13. juni 2007

- Gaza belongs to Hamas, the West Bank to Fatah Khaled Abu Toameh writes an analysis of the situation in the Palestinian territories. Unless the fighting stops in the next day or two, the entire Gaza Strip is likely to fall into the hands of Hamas. All Fatah can do now is vent its anger at the remaining handful of Hamas representatives in the West Bank. The majority of the Hamas leaders in the West Bank are in Israeli jails and the Islamic movement does not have a strong military presence there. Tuesday night, PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas convened his top aides in the West Bank to assess the situation in the wake of what he has called the "military coup" staged by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. One of the options facing Abbas is to break up the coalition partnership with Hamas and to officially declare war on the Islamic movement. Whatever decision Abbas and his Fatah lieutenants take, it will be hard to change the new reality that has been created on the ground, especially in the Gaza Strip. As of today, the Palestinians can boast that they have two entities - one in the Gaza Strip run by Muslim fundamentalists and another one in the West Bank under the control of secular Fatah leaders. With the territories divided, Fatah may use the opportunity to take total control of the bank's Palestinian Authority. Which of the warring entities will those western countries, like Norway, who insist on "normalising" relationships with the PA, consider the legitimate government that it will send its money to? It's a really bizarre question to ask, but the socialists' view of the Arab-Israeli conflict is about as bizarre as anything gets. 5:08:48 PM    comment []  trackback []

Hamas captures Fatah's security headquarters The increasing violence between Hamas and Fatah is now a full civil war, and Hamas is seizing the initiative. Hundreds of Hamas fighters firing rockets and mortar shells captured the headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza on Tuesday, scoring a key victory in the bloody battle for control of the seaside strip. Both sides said Gaza had descended into civil war, as the death toll from two days of Palestinian fighting reached 37. Tuesday's battles marked a turning point, with Hamas moving systematically to seize Fatah positions in what some in the Islamic militant group said would be a decisive phase in the yearlong power struggle. The confrontations became increasingly brutal in recent days, with some killed execution-style in the streets, others in hospital shootouts or thrown off rooftops. It is just a matter of time before this war is also engulfing the West Bank. Fatah has suspended the "unity" government as a reaction to having its butts kicked in Gaza. This is the same entity Norway's socialist government is struggling to send our money to. PS: There is also fighting reported in Nablus in the West Bank. PS 2: It is worth noting that this dramatic development, which is headlining international news sites worldwide, is as of now practically absent from the web front pages of major Norwegian media. It may take them some time to find a credible way to blame Israel... 6:22:56 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.07.2007; 23:27:25.