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A Palestinian boy looks at a shop destroyed by an Israeli tank shell in Gaza, June 27, 2007. (Reuters Photo) |
The Hamas-Fatah clash, which has culminated into a mini civil war in recent weeks, is both old and new, and while some of its elements are uniquely Palestinian, much of it was manufactured at the behest of US and Israeli intelligence agencies and governments. The tensions between Fatah and Hamas are decades old.
Fatah has — since the late 1960s until today — claimed a superior, if not exclusive, position at the helm of Palestinian politics. At times there seemed little margin for any other organization — be it secular, socialist, or religious — to share a platform with Yasser Arafat's movement.
Throughout the years, Fatah ensured the relevance of Palestinians to their own struggle. It's important, therefore, that Fatah is not seen as one monolithic body; Mohammad Dahlan and the likes have tainted the reputation of Fatah forever, but our evaluation of the movement and its decades-long struggle must not be reduced to these individuals.
| Palestinians were caught in many violent episodes in the past, but this one is most tragic. |
With Fatah through its hegemony within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), being the "sole representative of the Palestinian people" for so many years, Hamas's rise was never accepted as part of the fold.
The Second Palestinian Uprising of 2000 (Intifadat Al-Aqsa) can be seen as a revolt against Israel and its occupation, but also against those who did Israel's bidding among Palestinians: the shameful legion of Palestinians whose wealth grew to unprecedented levels as the great majority of Palestinians were steeped further into poverty.
Such shamelessness fostered support for Hamas among ordinary Palestinians. In
January of 2006, Hamas swept the polls to its own surprise and the surprise of many. The elites and wealthy few had espoused a society that is governed by brutality and favoritism and was unabashedly managed with the help of Israel.
Hamas was the only serious alternative: Their anti-corruption record and the tough fight they displayed against Israel, made them deserving of the responsibility from the Palestinians' point of view.
Though Palestinians were ready to give Hamas a chance, the US, Israel, various Arab regimes, and Fatah were not. In the last couple of weeks after what happened in the Gaza Strip, the support provided to Abbas and his organization attests to the lengths the US and Israel are willing to take to keep Hamas at bay.
What took place in the Gaza Strip was tragic, but the question remains: considering the circumstances at the time, did Hamas and Fatah have other options that could have allowed them to achieve their objectives peacefully?
I think there was enough determination on both sides to prevent a civil war at any cost, hence they reached an agreement in Makkah. However, US behind-the-scenes manipulation ensuring the failure and collapse of the unity government and the utter corruption among Fatah's self-serving security circles, made good intentions simply extraneous.
| Even personal money transfers, channeled through Western Union and the like, will be halted to ensure the total suffocation of the Gaza Strip. |
No Sovereignty
The violence was heartbreaking, especially when one read the details: people getting thrown from the top of high buildings and summary executions. Palestinians were caught in many violent episodes in the past, but this one is most tragic for it took place under the watchful eye of Israel, who mercilessly continued to kill Palestinians, young and old, at the same time that Palestinians were killing one another.
Now that the tragedy occurred, one can only hope that common sense and sanity return, and that Palestinians recognize, once more, that they are still an occupied nation that has no meaningful political sovereignty. Unfortunately, the US and Israeli governments remain most relevant in determining the course of action in Palestine, and naturally, they continue to infuse much harm.
The Israeli government is now scheduled to hand back the money it stole from the Palestinians in the form of taxes collected on their behalf to Abbas in the West Bank, while declaring it intends to tighten the siege on the already besieged and utterly poor Gaza Strip. Even personal money transfers, channeled through Western Union and the like, will be halted to ensure the total suffocation of the Gaza Strip. The US government will be pumping tens of millions into Abbas's hands; Fatah's warlords — rampaging against Hamas institutions in the West Bank — will also be receiving more than their fair share of money and weapons. It is quite easy to understand the underlying intents of this generosity after a year and a half of embargo or to picture the horrible scenario that will result from an empowered, corrupt, and vengeful regime.
Still the occupier of the West Bank, Israel is committing itself to ensure that the friction among Palestinians will destroy their national project in the West Bank as well; Fatah will now be allowed to do what Israel has failed to do over the period of six decades.
Valuable Lessons
| Freedom for Palestinians is more precious than bread, no matter how irrational this may sound. |
Despite that painful nature of this conflict, one can only hope that some valuable lessons can be gleaned from all of this, not just by Palestinians, but by others who share with them the meddling of superpowers and whose democracy is a constant target.
First, the Gaza Strip has exposed, like no other experience in modern history, to the hypocrisy of the US government's democracy charade; if it had been true democracy that the US was seeking, it would have acknowledged the Palestinian people's collective will and fostered dialogue with their representatives, as opposed to starvation and blockade and covert operations to topple the freely elected government.
Second, corruption, although temporarily rewarding, is never lasting. The people, although forgiving and patient at times, have the ability to withstand pressure, to prevail, and force change, even if violently.
Third, proxy politics is most harmful, in Palestine and elsewhere. Palestinian leaders should learn that selling one's political will to foreign polities for the sake of money, power, or political substantiation, is unforgivable in the eyes of Palestinians. After all, it's those people who have stood up and confronted the gigantic powers of Israel and the US, and the corruption and brutality of some of their own for many decades; they will continue to do so no matter how high the price may be.
Freedom for Palestinians is more precious than bread, no matter how irrational this may sound.
The Gaza Strip might have descended into chaos for a few weeks or months, but also has the US agenda, championed by the remnants of the Neoconservative clique in the Bush administration that stubbornly fail to operate outside the parameters of the doctrine of violence, secrecy, conspiracies, and military coups. They refused to know that it is not weapons that Palestinians want, it is simply freedom.
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