The two largest Palestinian factions — Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and the Islamic Resistance movement Hamas, which governs Gaza — signed a historic accord on October 12 in Cairo. If the agreement holds, it would end a decade of uneasy coexistence, following a near-civil war in 2007.

Though only sketchy details have been revealed, the agreement would give the Palestinian Authority administrative and security control over the Gaza Strip and would almost certainly require Hamas to separate its political and armed wings, if not disband its militias altogether. Palestinians hope it would open Gaza’s border with Egypt and relieve the humanitarian crisis which the United Nations has called “dramatic” after a decade-long Israeli blockade. It would also clear the way for national elections to be held for the first time since 2006.

Numerous efforts to create unity governments have failed, largely due to pressure from the United States, which invariably threatens to bankrupt the Palestinian Authority if it makes peace with Hamas. The Trump administration seems to be following that playbook: US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt issued a statementdemanding that Hamas disarm and recognize the state of Israel before being accepted into a unity government, echoing the position of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who says he will not negotiate with a government that includes Hamas.

These negotiations and countermoves have their roots in Palestinian elections held between 2004 and 2006. In late 2004, when I was last in Palestine, my friend Intisar Salman was traveling all over the West Bank, leading workshops for women on how to participate in the upcoming local elections, both as voters and as candidates.