(IsraelNN.com) The strife between Hamas and Fatah will continue for a long time, and the chances of a compromise are slim, according to Prof. Gamal Soltan of a Cairo think tank.

In an analysis that first appeared in bitterlemons-international.org, he said that Egypt's strategy is "to keep the [Hamas] movement at arm's length in order to contain it."  Soltan maintained that negotiating between Hamas and Israel on kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is one way in which it is containing Hamas, but that "mutual mistrust between Hamas and Egypt" does not allow Cairo's strategy to fully succeed.

Prof. Soltan added that the division in the PA is similar to previous situations in Germany, Vietnam, China and Korea.
 
"This is the Middle East's cold war, in which states that are divided along ideological lines are not likely to restore unity until major systemic changes are brought about," the professor wrote. Referring to Fatah power in Judea and Samaria, and Hamas power in Gaza, he wrote, "Efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions should not be abandoned, however. Lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved with two rival Palestinian mini-states in place."

He stated that serious changes in the region cannot be brought about without the participation of Israel, the United States, the European Union (EU), Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.