More crucial medicines are running out. PA continues its siege of Gaza, but... human rights NGOs don't care. - by Elder of Ziyon

...Israel's restriction of materials to Gaza did not kill anyone (I did not see any such claims in Arab media) but these shortages, mandated by Mahmoud Abbas on his own people for some seven months already, are resulting in deaths. So, where are the "human rights" NGOs complaining about the humanitarian crisis? Where is the media? They are discussing how a 18 year old "child" was arrested for assaulting a soldier on video.

Elder of Ziyon..
26 December '17..

We are now more than two months into the "reconciliation" between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, much of which only occurred because the PA imposed a crippling siege on Gaza of electricity, fuel and medicines that was ignored by the world.

And yet the siege continues.

Israel does not limit medicines or medical equipment into Gaza (with the exception of a tiny number of devices that need to be approved individually because they contain radioactive material or the like.)

But the Palestinian Authority does limit them. And the world, obsessed with Israel's blockade, ignores the things that Mahmoud Abbas does to his own people, not unlike Syria's Assad.

Gaza health officials are alarmed as the shortage of medicines and other medical needs have reached a critical point.

There is now a shortage of materials needed for blood tests, such as tests for hepatitis C and B tests and HIV tests. There is also a shortage of PKU tests for newborns, and for thyroid diseases.

Also, anti-rejection drugs for people who have received organ transplants.

(Continue to Full Post)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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The prospect of a Fatah-Hamas unity certainly gets the world salivating, but... by Khaled Abu Toameh

...Israel and the rest of the world are currently facing two Palestinian camps: one (Hamas) that does not want to make peace with Israel because it believes Israel ought not to exist, and the second (Fatah) that cannot make peace with Israel because it is too weak to do so. The next US administration, whatever political persuasion it may be, would do well to mark this reality.

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
30 October '16..

This has become predictable. Given two minutes of breath, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas resorts to the old tactic of courting Hamas as a way of hiding from the disaffection of his own Fatah faction. The overtures towards Hamas are a smokescreen for what many Palestinians are beginning to perceive as the beginning of a revolt against Abbas.

Last week, Abbas held a surprise meeting in Qatar with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal. The meeting reportedly considered ways of ending the longstanding dispute between Fatah and Hamas and achieving "national reconciliation."

Abbas aides said the meeting also dealt with the possibility of forming a Palestinian "national unity" government and holding long-overdue presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The unexpected meeting was held under the auspices of the rulers of Qatar, a country that has long been the Number One sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, of which Hamas is an offshoot.

The surprising nature of the meeting between Abbas and the Hamas leaders makes sense: for one thing, the two sides had, prior to the encounter, denied that it would take place.

Moreover, the meeting came only weeks after Fatah and Hamas traded allegations over the cancellation of the Palestinian municipal election, supposed to be held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on October 8. Tensions between the two rival parties have since been mounting over the cancellation of the local election, with each side holding the other responsible for "foiling the democratic, electoral process."

So what is really behind Abbas's latest decision to throw himself into the open arms of Hamas? Is the PA president suddenly smitten with genuine concern for "national reconciliation", or did something else prompt him to rush to Qatar?

(Continue to Full Post)

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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IMRA Weekly Commentary: Time to set benchmarks for Palestinian compliance

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA..
14 June '12..




Here’s a snapshot of the situation today:

1. The Palestinians have many thousands of rockets, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles, and other illegal weapons in the Gaza Strip. Every Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, including the ruling Hamas, has its own stocks of these weapons.

2. The official position of the Palestinian Authority is that there are no illegal weapons in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian videos documenting the launching of rockets and missiles are not considered evidence by the PA as they only document equipment that, by definition, the Palestinians no longer have since they already shot them.

3. Israel’s official position is that in the event that the Gaza Strip comes again under the control of the PA that the PA would be obligated to collect the illegal weapons. Israel also insists that a PA unity government that includes Hamas would not be legitimate unless Hamas changed. Demands for changes by Hamas have been reiterated by the Quartet.

So far so good?

No.

Let’s apply what we have learned from the Oslo experience:

Freund - The end of Palestine

Michael Freund..
Pundicity/JPost..
16 February '12..




I never thought I would say this, but those of us on the Israeli Right owe a debt of gratitude to Mahmoud Abbas.

By forging a unity agreement with Hamas earlier this month in Doha, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority president has inadvertently corroborated one of the central tenets of our political philosophy: the Palestinians cannot and must not be granted a state.

Ever since the signing of the Oslo Accords in September 1993, we have warned against the establishment of a Palestinian entity alongside Israel. Historical, military and geopolitical arguments have been made, numerous articles and papers have been written, and countless rallies and protests were organized, all with the aim of demonstrating just how foolhardy such a step would be.

Repeatedly, we have pleaded with the public to recognize the dangers inherent in dividing the land of Israel and placing the heart of the country within our foes' artillery range. Time after time, we have insisted that an independent Palestine would be swept up by the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism and become an outpost for Iranian-style extremism.

It has often been an uphill battle, as much of the media and the international community has prodded and pressed to give the Palestinians a state of their own, seemingly without regard for the consequences.

Rubin - The Region: Saved by our enemies

Barry Rubin..
Opinion Columnist..
12 February '12..




It’s not Western policy but Middle Eastern radicals’ extremism that, ironically, saves the day

President Barack Obama is campaigning on the claim that he is a great friend of Israel despite the fact that this is clearly not true. After all, the announcement of a coalition government between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas, a genocidally oriented terrorist group that is openly anti- Semitic and rejects all of the agreements with Israel on which the PA is based prompts no US (or European) policy response.

In fact, it is only the extremism of the region’s radical regimes and movements, their refusal to accept the deals he offers them, that has prevented Obama from being a disaster for Israel. Meanwhile, great damage is done to US and Western interests.

Nobody wants to say this, and no one in any Israeli government should do so, but they know Israel cannot depend on the Obama administration for real support.

Still, a strategy in which Israeli leaders say nice things about Obama, try to be as cooperative as possible, and are patient – while doing what needs to be done directly – has worked out precisely because the Obama administration’s policies were wrong.

For example, the US effort to engage with Iran failed due to Iranian behavior which forced an end to that policy. The same applies to the White House’s pro-Syrian policy. And the administration’s hamhanded effort to push forward the Israel-Palestinian peace process also became a mess that Obama had to abandon.

Eventually the same thing will happen with the Muslim Brotherhood when sufficient evidence of its radicalism and anti-Americanism accumulates that even the White House can no longer ignore it.

Consider this example of how the process works, doing damage but eventually being fixed.

Kushner - From Israel: A Clown

Arlene Kushner..
13 February '12..

Ben Gurion famously referred to "oom shmoom," which is a derisive reference to the UN that cannot quite be translated. ("Oom" referring to the United Nations and "shmoom" being a nonsense putdown.) Well, attitudes have changed here in Israel since then, but I fall back on this Ben Gurion reference every so often because it remains so fitting at one level.

I bring it up now because Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the UN, visited this region recently, at which time he urged Netanyahu to make "goodwill gestures" to advance peace. On returning to NY this past week, he delivered a talk to the UN Security Council in which he discussed his visit. According to UN radio, as reported by the official Jordanian news agency Petra (Jordan having been intimately involved in recent negotiations), Ban says, "the right moment has come for the peace process in the Middle East."

Say what?

It would be easier to dismiss this with "oom shmoom," if it weren't for the fact that the UN is part of the Quartet. And what Ban also said was that the Fatah-Hamas unity agreement does not conflict with Abbas's negotiations with Israel. This is worrisome, although not unexpected. Anything can be rationalized where there's a will to do so.

Benson - Talking to Hamas, Talking to the Taliban

Pesach Benson..
Honest Reporting/Backspin..
09 February '12..


Rose-colored glasses are de rigueur in the Christian Science Monitor newsroom. With the US engaging the Taliban, this Monitor staff-ed wants to apply similar logic to Israel and Hamas:

President Obama was smart not to follow the example of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned against the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal. If the United States is willing to talk to the Taliban – even to the point of dropping its preconditions – then Israel should leave a door open to the possibility that Hamas is slowly accepting Israel’s right to exist under a two-state solution.

Whatever the White House calculus is, I wouldn’t be so quick to compare the two situations. It’s easier for Hamas to fire rockets at Israeli cities than it is for the Taliban to strike the US. That makes a different comfort level for dialogue.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
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Glick - The Fatah-Hamas peace process

Caroline Glick..
carolineglick.com..
10 February '12..

On Monday afternoon, the Palestinians destroyed officially whatever was left of the concept of a peace process with Israel.

When PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas signed a deal with Hamas terror-master Khaled Mashaal in Doha, Qatar, the notion that there is a significant segment of Palestinian society that is not committed to the destruction of Israel was finally and truly sunk.

But before the ink on the agreement had a chance to dry, the peace processors were already spewing bromides whose sole purpose was to deny this inarguable conclusion. Both the Obama administration and the EU claimed that the agreement is an internal Palestinian issue. The EU actually welcomed the deal.

As Foreign Policy Commissioner Catherine Ashton's spokesman put it, "The EU has consistently called for intra-Palestinian reconciliation behind President Mahmoud Abbas as an important element for the unity of a future Palestinian state and for reaching a two-state solution."

The Israeli Left was quick to blame the agreement on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In an apparent bid to inject a bit of reality into the delusional discourse, Netanyahu condemned the pact. As he put it, "If Abbas moves to implement what was signed today in Doha, he will abandon the path of peace and join forces with the enemies of peace."

Netanyahu added a personal appeal to his supposed partner in peace saying, "President Abbas, you can't have it both ways. It's either a pact with Hamas or peace with Israel. It's one or the other."

Netanyahu's statement was a nice start. But it didn't go nearly far enough. In speaking as he did, Netanyahu obscured the fact that Abbas already made his choice. He has cast his lot and that of Fatah with Hamas. In so doing Abbas once more exposed the dirty secret that everyone knows but no one likes to discuss: Fatah and Hamas share the same strategic goal of destroying Israel. Fatah is not a moderate force that accepts a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian conflict with Israel. It is a terrorist organization and a political warfare organization. Fatah's strategic goal remains what it has been since it was founded in 1959: The obliteration of the Jewish state.

In truth, Monday's agreement is nothing new. Fatah and Hamas have worked together since at least 1994. In November 1994, Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement in Cairo. The agreement set out each side's sphere of responsibility. Fatah would negotiate with Israel and Hamas would attack Israel.

Kushner - From Israel: Whither Unity?

Arlene Kushner..
10 February '12..





A brief posting today, before Shabbat, focused on Hamas and the "reconciliation" with Fatah. As predicted, it is shaky at best, and by the time I write again who knows how the situation will have shifted.

Word is coming from multiple sources now indicating great dissatisfaction with the agreement on the part of Hamas leaders in Gaza. Apparently, which was not what I was reading at first, Haniyeh is among those voicing objections.

The key source of those objections is the fact that Abbas will be prime minister of the interim unity government. This, they point out, contravenes Palestinian Authority Basic Law, because Abbas is president and one person is not permitted to hold both positions. In fact, this principle was written into the law because Arafat had absolute power; this was a move to mitigate that power and, ironically, Abbas was a key figure in pushing for that adjustment. Abbas, it should be noted, already has enormous power as head of the PLO and Fatah -- in addition to being president of the PA.

And so, there are questions as to how well this new unity agreement will be held up. Very little is certain when it comes to the very volatile Palestinian Arab politics.

IMRA - Demanding Disarmed Gaza

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
09 February '12..

It could not be simpler:

The Palestinians claim that the Hamas-Fatah unity government that is to reunite that West Bank and Gaza Strip is committed to honor the Oslo agreements.

The western countries that take a favorable position regarding the unity government also, at least in their pronouncements, condition their support on Palestinian compliance.

And there is no better test of this commitment to honor the agreements than requiring a very public removal and destruction of the huge stores of weapons in the Gaza Strip that constitute a gross violation of the Oslo
agreements.

Sure, you can talk about “incitement”, but we very quickly get sucked into a debate over just what constitutes “incitement”.

The last thing we should demand is “quiet” instead of “compliance”.

Hornik - The Hamas-Fatah Reunion

P. David Hornik..
frontpage.com..
09 February '12..



The cruel farce known as the peace process took another downturn this week as Fatah and Hamas signed a unity agreement in Doha, Qatar.

It’s not the first such agreement they’ve signed, and none of the previous instances was a smashing success. Most notably, the two sides’ Mecca Agreement of February 2007 collapsed four months later in Hamas’s bloody ouster of Fatah from Gaza; and the agreement reached in Cairo last May never got off the ground.

This time, though, there may be a crucial difference. It has to do with the mounting momentum of what’s called the Arab Spring.

Hamas was long the Sunni odd-man-out in Iran’s Shiite-dominated alliance. This year, though, top Hamas officials have had to leave Syria for refusing to support Bashar Assad’s brutality against the largely-Sunni populace. Meanwhile Hamas’s star has been rising again in the Sunni world—as evidenced by Gazan Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s recent well-received tour of Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

Israeli analyst Jonathan D. Halevi suggests Hamas is “trying to implement the strategy of the Arab Spring in the Palestinian arena.” On the background of the Islamist ascendancy in the region, Hamas sees its position among the Palestinians as strong and believes it will easily defeat Fatah in the elections envisaged by the Doha agreement.

If so, what’s in it for Fatah? In Halevi’s view, its leaders have the same perception as Hamas and believe their brand of relatively secular nationalism is on the downswing in the West Bank and Gaza as in most of the Sunni Arab world. Hence, in signing the Doha agreement, “the Fatah leaders prefer swimming with the current”—trying to hitch themselves to Hamas instead of fighting it—“to sinking beneath it.”

Rennert - WaPo runs reader letter blasting non-existent Israeli target

Leo Rennert..
American Thinker..
08 February '12..

The Feb. 7 editorial page of the Washington Post features a letter from reader Joanne Heisel, who castigates Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for supposedly approving housing subsidies for 70 settlements in the West Bank. She attributes this "fact" to the Post's coverage and goes on to argue that this proves that Netanyahu has no intention of supporting a two-state solution. The headline over the letter reads: "Netanyahu reveals his true intent"

There's just one problem with Heisel's letter. She's blasting a non-existant target. Yes, the Israeli cabinet on Feb. 1 approved a list of 500 communities eligible for housing subsidies, including as it turned out several dozen in the West Bank. The Post reported this in is Feb. 2 edition, prompting this reader's letter.

But no sooner had subsidies for settlements been publicized than the Israeli cabinet, at the instigation of Netanyahu, removed all settlements from the subsidies list, prompting loud denunciations of Netanyahu by right-wing Israeli politicians. Any such subsidies for Israeli communities in the West Bank now would have to be ratified separately in the future by a "political decision" of the government. In the meantime, they're out in the cold as far as housing subsidies are concerned. Netanyahu is not subsidizing housing for settlers.

The AP ran a detailed story about Netanyahu's turnabout, pointing out that he had been under U.S. pressure to reverse course. But pity this poor reader, the Washington Post ignored this fact, leaving her to direct her ire at a no-longer existing target.

Who bears responsibility at the Post for running a letter with no basis in fact? Obviously, the editors of the editorial page. But they might plead extenuating circumstances and shift some blame to the news pages, where pejorative gotcha pieces about Israel abound, but where positive reports about Israel are virtually non-existent. In other words, the Post, in this instance, has been hoisted by its own biased petard. Editors of the editorial page apparently were misled by the news department's non-coverage of Israel's decision not to proceed with housing subsidies for settlements.

Halevi - The New PA-Hamas Agreement: Opening the Gates to the Trojan Horse

Jonathan D. Halevi..
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Blog..
08 February '12..

On February 6, 2012, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal signed a new agreement to create a Palestinian national unity government for the West Bank and Gaza. The agreement, known as the Doha Declaration – under the patronage of the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani – includes the following provisions:

*The continued functioning of the PLO via the reformation of the Palestinian National Council, together with elections to the presidency and the parliament.

*The holding of a second meeting of the ad-hoc committee on revitalizing the PLO in Cairo on February 18.

*The creation of a national unity government of technocrats headed by “the president” (Abbas), whose task will be to implement the elections for the presidency and the parliament and to begin the rehabilitation of Gaza.

*To continue the activity of the committees set up by the reconciliation document signed by the two sides in Cairo in December, namely: the Public Freedom Committee, which is authorized to deal with the release of prisoners, the opening of institutions (including Hamas charitable societies) that were closed during the period of hostility between the sides, the return of Fatah activists to Gaza, the issuance of passports, and freedom of action; and the Community Reconciliation Committee, which is to deal with compensating the families of those killed in the violent clashes between Fatah and Hamas.

On the background of the signing of the agreement, Abbas announced as a confidence-building measure the release of 64 prisoners from Palestinian Authority (PA) prisons in the West Bank. Although the identities of the released prisoners have not been made clear, probably most of them belong to Hamas, given its strong demand to free all the “political prisoners” as an essential condition for reconciliation between the sides.

Initial Implications

The agreement makes Abbas the supreme authority for all PA institutions. In addition to heading Fatah, Abbas serves as leader of the PLO, chairman of the PA, and soon as Palestinian prime minister as well. Although appointing “the president” as prime minister contravenes Palestinian basic law, it served as a compromise to overcome Fatah-Hamas disagreement on this issue.

Kushner - From Israel: The Trees...

Arlene Kushner..
07 February '12..

It pleases me to begin with mention of Tu B'Shvat, which starts tonight. A holiday with religious significance in the Mishnah (as the "New Year of the Trees" with regard to how years are calculated for harvest of fruit), Tu B'Shvat has become very much an Arbor Day here in modern Israel: a day for the honoring and the planting of trees, as well as a day for eating the fruit of the tree -- especially the Biblical fruits, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.

We have been blessed this year with more rain than we've had for several years -- rain which still continues. Because of this the landscape is so very green. And, as is expected, the earliest of the blossoming trees, the almond, has begun to flower -- the harbinger of spring.

Source: Yael Ruder

~~~~~~~~~~

How much more lovely to speak of almond blossoms than Fatah and Hamas, but that's our focus now:

Khaled Abu Toameh has reported in the JPost that Fatah and Hamas have reached a unity agreement. This reconciliation accord, signed by Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, is being referred to as the "Doha Declaration" -- it was mediated by the government of Qatar in Doha.

Under its terms, Abbas -- currently functioning as president of the PA, although his term has expired -- will be the interim prime minister of a government consisting of "independent figures." There is no mention of whether Salam Fayyad, whom Hamas has consistently opposed and Abbas has just as consistently promoted, will play a role.

Tobin - Palestinians Make Themselves Irrelevant

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary/Contentions..
07 February '12..

There was something interesting about the reaction to the consummation of the Fatah-Hamas unity pact yesterday. The agreement, which confirmed the entry of the Islamist terrorist group into the governing structure of the Palestinian Authority and the exit of the PA’s reform-minded Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, provoked the expected harsh words from Israel’s government. In Washington, the reaction from the Obama administration was equally predictable as the State Department spokesperson withheld judgment. Some members of Congress served notice that the PA’s embrace of Hamas meant the end of U.S. aid.

But the main conclusion to be drawn from the reaction to what can only be termed a momentous turn of events is something entirely different. The lack of alarm or even much worry about the impact of Hamas on the peace process makes it clear not only is there no more peace process to worry about, but that the Palestinians have made themselves irrelevant.

Where once the international chattering classes doted upon every aspect of Palestinian politics in a way that confirmed the prevalent myth that Israel’s antagonists were truly at the heart of all the problems of the Middle East, it is no longer possible for even their cheerleaders and apologists to pretend this is so. In the 18+ years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have talked and bombed their way not only out of peace and the independent state they claimed they wanted but also off the front pages. While supporters of Israel still keep their eyes on the goings-on in Ramallah and Gaza, the rest of the world is gradually moving on.

Tobin - Is Hamas Joining the PLO or is Fatah Joining Hamas?

Jonathan Tobin
Commentary/Contentions
22 December '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/12/22/hamas-fatah-plo-unity/

In line with previous reports of a change in strategy on the part of Hamas, the news that the Islamist terror group has agreed to join the Palestine Liberation Organization may be viewed as further evidence of their moderation. But anyone who imagines that this move will bring the Middle East closer to peace is the victim of a deception. Rather than the PLO moderating Hamas, the integration of Gaza’s rulers into the ruling structures that govern the West Bank merely guarantees it will be even more difficult, if not impossible, for Israel to have a Palestinian negotiating partner.

The talks between Hamas and Fatah – the ruling faction of both the Palestinian Authority and the PLO — are fraught with tension, but the ongoing negotiations between the two factions in Cairo are testimony to the commitment of both to unite their efforts. Such a common front will not only close the door to talks to Israel (which the PA has avoided for three years) but will also raise the question of whether it will be possible to avoid a new round of violence.

Some readers may be wondering why the two groups are fussing about membership in a group many thought ceased to exist once the Oslo Accords brought Yasir Arafat to power via the Palestinian Authority. The PA is the governing structure of the West Bank as it had been in Gaza until Hamas seized power there in 2007. But the PLO remains the group that is widely recognized around the world and at the United Nations as the representative of the Palestinians. Thus, the integration of Hamas into the PLO is historically significant.

Tobin - The Palestinian Balance of Terror

Jonathan S. Tobin
Commentary/Contentions
19 December '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/12/19/palestinian-terror-unity-fatah-hamas/

On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will meet again in Cairo to discuss the implementation of the Fatah-Hamas unity pact that was first signed in May. Though the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh reports there are still significant differences between the two groups, the resumption of the talks between them indicates that there is still a much greater chance of peace between the Palestinian factions than between the PA and Israel. Abbas’ desire to prefer “unity” with the Islamists of Hamas to negotiations with Israel illustrates the bankruptcy of a peace process that is predicated on the idea that “moderates” such as those running the PA are ready to recognize Israel’s legitimacy.

Though some Palestinian apologists claim the unity deal will housetrain Hamas, this contradicts everything we know about the terrorist group. Far from the deal illustrating the willingness of Hamas to acquiesce to Israel’s existence, the relative shift in strength between the two movements since May as well as the growing influence of Islamists in Egypt shows progress toward implementation of the pact makes peace with Israel impossible.

No matter what the final terms of this unity pact turn out to be, it should first be understood that by choosing to embrace Hamas rather than seeking to eliminate their influence, Abbas and Fatah have indicated their lack of interest in ending the conflict with Israel. Former U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell used to like to analogize the Middle East conflict to Ireland and say that if the Irish and the British could learn to live with each other then so could the Israelis and the Palestinians. But what he always failed to understand is that the leaders of the Irish independence movement made a critical decision in 1922 when Michael Collins chose peace and partition over the maximalist demands of his Irish Republican Army colleagues. Collins and the peace faction didn’t just sign an agreement with Britain; they were prepared to fight a bloody civil war against their extremist brethren. Their victory in that conflict, which cost Collins his life, enabled the two-state solution in Ireland that persists to this day.

Toameh - Hamas and Fatah: The Unity Government That Isn't - and Won't Be

Khaled Abu Toameh
Hudson New York
29 November '11

http://www.hudson-ny.org/2626/hamas-fatah-unity-government

Each time Fatah and Hamas announce that they are close to ending their dispute, the Palestinians quickly discover that the two rival parties are not telling the truth.

In many ways, the status quo is not all bad for Fatah and Hamas. The two parties have, in fact, a common interest in maintaining the status quo for as long as ever.

For Fatah, which is in control of large parts of the West Bank, the situation could not be better. Thanks to continued American and EU financial aid, the economy in the West Bank is relatively good, and tens of thousands of Palestinian Authority civil servants are receiving their salaries on time.

Those who think that Fatah is dying to go back to the Gaza Strip are deluding themselves. Since it was thrown out of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, Fatah is no longer being held responsible for what goes on in that area. The Fatah leadership is no longer being blamed for the rocket and missile attacks launched from the Gaza Strip, and no one is accusing Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad of failing to improve the living conditions of the 1.5 million Palestinians living there.

Benson - Time’s “Popular” Disconnect

Pesach Benson
Honest Reporting/Backspin
27 November '11


http://honestreporting.com/times-popular-disconnect/

Popular can mean a lot of things, but one thing it does not mean is “peaceful.” Therein lies the confusion for correspondent Karl Vick.

You can imagine him wearing rose colored glasses as he wrote up this assessment of Hamas/Fatah unity talks for Time.

Afterwards both met the cameras smiling. “There are no differences between us now,” Abbas said. Mashaal went with: “We have opened a new page of partnership.” And on whose terms? Hamas stands for resistance, its formal name being the Islamic Resistance Movement. But in the Gaza Strip where it governs, Hamas has largely enforced a truce with Israel since January 2009. And in Cairo it signed a paper committing itself to “popular resistance” against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. That’s “popular” in contrast to “violent” or “military” resistance. We’re talking marches here. Chanting and signs, not booby traps or suicide bombs.

“Every people has the right to fight against occupation in every way, with weapons or otherwise. But at the moment, we want to cooperate with the popular resistance,” Meshaal told AFP. “We believe in armed resistance but popular resistance is a program which is common to all the factions.”

The disconnect is simple. When Palestinians say “popular” Vick hears “non-violent.” But what they mean is grassroots.

In the Palestinian dictionary, kids throwing stones at Israelis is grassroots “popular” resistance no less than adults holding a grassroots “popular” candlelight vigil.

Gilad Shalit wasn’t kidnapped by any old resistance committees. He was snatched and held captive by the Popular Resistance Committees. Their popularity comes from promising to kidnap more soldiers, not holding marches, witty chants, or clever signs.

Whatever Hamas signed onto in Cairo doesn’t represent Hamas moderation but Fatah extremism.

(Image of rose glasses via Flickr/derekGavey)

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IMRA - PA reunification: Israel should focus on the missiles

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
Weekly Commentary
24 November '11

Fact: There are huge quantities of weapons in the Gaza Strip both prohibited by the Oslo agreements and utterly inconsistent with the kind of “demilitarized” state a broad consensus of supporters of Palestinian independence around the world have in mind.

Fact: None of the relevant “actors” – Palestinian and foreign – deny the presence of literally hundreds and thousands of various rockets, missiles, etc. in the Gaza Strip. If anything many of the Palestinian and Arab actors are quite proud of the impressive array of weapons deployed today in the Gaza Strip.

Fact: The moment that the West Bank and Gaza Strip reunify, the Palestinian Authority will be directly responsible to respond to the presence of this massive violation of both the agreements with Israel and the demilitarization that the world ostensibly insists on for a Palestinian state.

So far Israeli remarks about reunification have focused on concerns regarding the participation of Hamas in the PA government.