The Full-Blown Palestinian Civil War

Khaled Abu Toameh
Hudson New York
20 August '10

Before trying to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the US Administration might do well to recall that last month marked the third anniversary of the war that erupted between Fatah and Hamas.

This war has so far claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians and resulted in the emergence of two separate states -- one in the Gaza Strip, and another in the West Bank. The Palestinians are probably the only people in the world who have two governments, two prime ministers and almost two of everything.

It is a war between a party that won a free election in January 2006, Hamas; and another that lost the vote, Fatah.

The war was triggered largely by Fatah's refusal to accept its defeat, and Hamas's insistence on clinging to power.

The infighting is also the result of a series of grave mistakes that were committed by the Americans and Europeans over the past few years.

The first mistake was to ignore warnings by Israel and Fatah that a free parliamentary election was likely to lead to a Hamas victory.

Mistake number two was to allow Hamas to participate in the election unconditionally. The Americans and Europeans should have welcomed Hamas's decision to run in the election, but they should also have demanded that the Islamist movement meet three conditions: renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and pledge to respect previous agreements signed between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The third mistake was to support and encourage Fatah's attempts to overthrow the Hamas government. American and European meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians backfired, further discrediting Fatah, and boosting Hamas's popularity among Palestinians even more.

(Read full article)

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