With the recent takeover of Gaza Strip by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist group, and Fatah’s continuing hold on the West Bank, are we suddenly seeing the arrival of a need for a three-state solution?

This is one case where one-plus-one may equal three. We have (or had) two parties in a Palestinian coalition government that have now split into, essentially, two governments in the two separate Palestinian territories — thus, if Israel were to offer a peace settlement right now (which ain’t gonna happen), it’s likely Israel, and the Palestinians, might have to settle on a three-state solution.

The Palestinian territories seemed headed to a turbulent political divide after Hamas gunmen took control of the Gaza Strip on Thursday and the Fatah president dissolved the three-month-old unity government, declaring a state of emergency and plans for elections.

An aide to Mr. Abbas announced the decrees, including the firing of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas, at a West Bank news conference after Hamas militias overran Fatah strongholds in Gaza, dragging men into the street and shooting them.

With Hamas controlling Gaza, it was not clear that Mr. Abbas has the power to carry out his decrees. A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, dismissed them.

. . .

In security terms, Israel would like to seal off Gaza from the West Bank as much as possible, to prevent the spread of Hamas military power there, where Israeli troops still occupy the territory. Israel would also like to confront Hamas with the responsibility for governing Gaza: providing jobs, food and security for its people.

. . .

“This is the beginning of the separation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” said [Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at the Fatah-affiliated Al Azhar University in Gaza], referring to the two territories that were eventually supposed to comprise an independent Palestinian state. “This is the lowest point in our struggle. We Palestinians are writing the final chapters of our national enterprise.”

This will be interesting to watch.

[UPDATE 1300: The Jewish daily, Forward, posts a story entitled, “Let Palestine Split Into Two,” questioning whether a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah is even desirable.]