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One law for Israel, another for Fatah

Saturday, 16th June 2007

The standard position on Gaza is that Israel should have dealt with the democratically elected government - Hamas. Let's leave the merits of that aside for a moment. I've yet to hear anyone - Ms Burton-Hill, where are you? - complain about exactly the same stance by President Mahmoud Abbas:

Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said the new government would be sworn in by Sunday. He also rejected dialogue with Hamas until the group withdraws from former Fatah positions in Gaza and dissolves its militia there. "There will be no dialogue with killers who carried out field executions in Gaza," he said.

So it's fine for the Palestinian President to refuse to negotiate with a terrorist group dedicated to his and his party's destruction. But Israelis must of course do so. For a superb analysis of the situation in Gaza, do read Amir Taheri today:

The immediate cause is the desire by Hamas to bring the security apparatus of Fatah, its rival group in Gaza, under its own control. Months of negotiations with the help of Saudi Arabia failed to persuade Fatah to put its security forces under government (which in practice meant Hamas) command. To Hamas, Fatah’s security machine, led by Muhammad Dahlan, is little better than “the Zionist enemy”. Dahlan, for his part, knew that, without his machine, he would have little chance of making a bid for the presidency when the incumbent, Mahmoud Abbas, is forced out. Dahlan ran a lucrative protection racket in Gaza, set up by the late Yassir Arafat and his family, to bankroll Fatah. Having expelled Fatah, Hamas takes over this protection racket. Despite a $250 million cash gift from Tehran, Hamas has been short of money for almost a year. Thus, seizing control of Arafat’s business empire in Gaza will be a godsend.

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Joshua

June 16th, 2007 4:35pm

One of my greatest heroes, Ariel Sharon, on this: 'Sharon begins by identifying with the suffering of the Palestinians, and speaks of the great opportunity that will befall them in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. Rice's ears perk up; it's not every day that you hear Sharon displaying such empathy. "There are only two problems," says Sharon, turning his gaze to his left. "Dubi, how do you say 'bloodthirsty' in English?" Sharon's adviser Dov Weissglas chokes on his avocado salad as an embarrassed silence fills the room. U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams translates the term. Now it's Rice's turn to choke on her salad. "There are only two problems," repeats Sharon. "They're bloodthirsty and treacherous." ' And my favourite newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, yesterday: 'The deeper lesson here is that a society that has spent the last decade celebrating suicide bombing would inevitably become a victim of its own nihilistic impulses. This is not the result of Mr. Bush's call for democratic responsibility; it is the bitter fruit of the decades of dictatorship and terrorism as statecraft that Yasser Arafat instilled among Palestinians.' Finally, who can be surprised that these bloodthirsty murderers of Jews are so celebrated in Britain, the current world capital of anti-Semitism?

Alan

June 16th, 2007 5:08pm

Kudos to Pollard and "Joshua" - your column and Joshua's comment summ up the position well. Now what will eventually happen is that Egypt will reclaim Gaza as the Hamas try to spread their Moslem Brotherhood inspired brand of Islam south into El Arish etc, in Sinai, and Jordan will take over the portion of the West Bank that Israel vacates once the "Palestinians" realize that they cannot ever achieve a decent life in these two failed would-be ministates.