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Religious War in Gaza
by Ronny Shaked
- The Palestinian infighting is no different than other civil wars. This is a war over values, over a way of life, and over the future identity of Palestinian society and state: It pits Fatah's secular democratic nationalism against Hamas' radical Islam.
- Hamas is fighting passionately in the name of religion and is backed by the "fatwas"- religious edicts that defines Fatah members as heretics and justifies the killing of Muslims.
- Fatah members, on the other hand, regard themselves as true Muslims and view Hamas as 'khawaraj' - a group that detached itself from the Islamic community, strictly adheres to religious laws, and defines those who do not follow its path as heretics punishable by death.
- Hamas and Abbas want a unity government in order to reach a lull in the fighting for the purpose of strengthening their forces for the next round of battles, which will culminate in either a military victory or a victory at the polls.
- A unity government is not likely to bridge the gaps, and the battles will inevitably be resumed. A decision will only be reached after a lot of blood has been shed and after the defeated party will disarm and accept the authority of the victor. (Ynet News)
Israel May Soon Get Sucked into the Gazan Vortex
by Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff
- The warring parties share the same religion and nationality, which may be keeping the violence from erupting into another Iraq. There are no guarantees, however. Within Fatah, there are rumors that Hamas might use suicide bombers and car bombs against it.
- How close is Israel to getting sucked into the Gazan vortex? Closer than one might think. Last week Israel declined to respond forcefully to the Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Eilat, on the assumption that it was their own infighting that headlined the Palestinians' agenda.
- That approach could change, though, when the main obstacle to an Israel Defense Forces ground incursion into Gaza - the outgoing chief of staff, Dan Halutz - takes his leave.
- A second Operation Defensive Shield in Gaza is in the pipeline, if not imminent. One of Halutz's final directives was to set a target date for completing the readiness of the relevant units. The army is prepared for the possibility that the intra-Palestinian conflict could spill over into a new Hamas and Islamic Jihad assault on Israel.
- If there is a ground incursion, it will focus on trying to stop the Hamas Qassam missile project, which has undergone significant developments in recent months. Some IDF officials believe that certain elements in Fatah are attempting, in a desperate move, to drag Israel into the conflict. (Ha'aretz)
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Palestine's House Divided
- Editorial
- Most of the killing has taken place in the Gaza Strip following Israel's withdrawal of 8,000 settlers, who once were seen as the primary obstacle to Palestinian development.
- So much, then, for the notion that what is mainly needed for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement is a change in Israeli policies.
- Instead, Messrs. Abbas and Haniyeh made a diplomatic pilgrimage to Mecca yesterday, where Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah attempted to mediate talks on a unity government. Good luck with that: Every previous such effort has collapsed, usually within days.
- If the experience of Gaza -- from which Israel removed its settlements in 2005 -- demonstrates anything, it is that the absence of Israeli occupation is not a sufficient condition for a Palestinian state.
- A decade ago it may have been plausible to believe that the answer to the Palestinian problem rested in outside hands: Israel, the U.S., the Arab world. It is now clear that the deepest problems are of Palestinian making. That may not be much comfort to diplomats hungry for the next breakthrough. But no breakthrough will be worth the effort if the result is a state that cannot govern itself. (Wall Street Journal)
Show the Way
- Editorial
- The barbarism that was directed at Israel has now turned inward, against its perpetrators. This is no particular cause for celebration.
- We wish to have peace with our neighbors, and it is hard to imagine such a peace when those neighbors are at war with themselves.
- Unfortunately, we are not witnessing a conflict between ideological opposites, where one side is clearly committed to peace and the other to terrorism.
- Unless Abbas, still regarded by many in Israel as a potential partner, begins to consistently and publicly push a message and a policy of conciliation among his own people, the international community should not be trying to prop up one radical, corrupt and delegitimized faction against another.
- It should, rather, be trying to steer the entire Palestinian polity away from terrorism and toward peace with Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
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