What are the challenges facing Palestinians struggling to reconcile the prospect of peace with outstanding issues of justice, security and national reconstitution? Most evaluations of the peace process focus on the Orwellian pronouncements of politicians, diplomacy or incidents of terrorism. Christopher Parker looks instead at grass-roots developments from within the new ""self rule"" areas, particularly Gaza, to assess the impact of ""peace"" on the future of socio-economic and political development. The interim order, he argues, has led to a greater fragmentation of Palestinian society and marginalized the Palestinian street. Threatening to consolidate the goals of Israel's occupation, it has left Palestinians less able to present a coordinated challenge to Israeli power while international aid and Palestinian ""security functions"" have been used to isolate the peace process from grass-root demands. Faced with economic hardship and the pressure to comply, Palestinian society has been torn between resignation and revolt with little basis upon which to build an effective polity.