Ramallah: For Palestinians, 2012 will be a testing year as Fatah and Hamas try to form a unity government and presidential elections are set.
It is up to the leaders to determine whether 2012 will be a year of unity or one of continued division.
However, 2011 was a remarkable year for Palestinians in that they surprised the world by requesting UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas officially submitted Palestine's application for full UN membership to the Secretary-General before he addressed the UN General Assembly in what the Palestinians considered to be a historic speech on September 23.
On October 31, Palestine won a crucial vote and became a full member of the Unesco. Hamas and Fatah have reconciled and are pledging to work together to form a unity government.
Paving the way
The US stance on Palestine's UN request along with the stalled peace negotiations with the Israelis motivated the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, to speed up reconciliation, while Israel vowed to do everything to undermine it.
The Palestinian factions met in Cairo on December 22 where the factions signed an agreement to restructure the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and to establish a caretaker government that would pave the way for the Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections in May.
In terms of Israeli colonial activity, it was a horrible year for Palestinians who saw the ordering of new colonies in Occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank. Colonist attacks on Palestinians, their property and their holy sites increased as "pay back" for the Palestinian move to request UN membership.
In Gaza, Hamas touted a prisoner swap with Israel as a victory, which saw the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after more than five years in Hamas captivity.
The Gaza situation on the other hand remains grave with Israel and the US determined to keep the coastal strip under siege providing minimal humanitarian and economic needs.
The military wings of the various Palestinian factions agreed upon a truce with Israel suspending rocket firing.
