Busy, Busy Hamas
Now they've got it they hardly know what to do with it. It's leaking. They're trying to plug the leaks. They've got this truly God-forsaken piece of geography with its highly dysfunctional social order, inherited a state of high unemployment, where even those business who could offer employment are doing their best to pull out of the sinking ship.And to begin with, it isn't the ship they really wanted, the one with the cargo that would give them a good return on their investment. They envisioned the fleet of two ships; Gaza and the West Bank.
But there you have it. The Islamist jihadist entity that proudly proclaimed itself the ruling authority for Palestinians, duly and democratically elected by Palestinians, terrorists-cum-politicos, somehow transformed themselves in the blink of an eye from politicians back into terrorists. The better to oust you with, dear Fatah.
And Fatah, whose militia was the recipient of new arms thanks to the U.S. and Israel pulling for the best of a bad bargain, proved themselves incapable of resisting the religious ardour of Hamas, and handed over this spanking new weaponry to their nemesis.
They've been busy, busy. Hatch one plot, if it doesn't work sufficiently well, ditch it, hatch another. Interventions by worried bystanding Arab states could do just so much to relieve tensions, to bring Hamas and Fatah back to wary togetherness. It's just too difficult to take the culture of hatred and violence out of the equation.
Just too tough to be political, forward-looking, responsible, accommodating, co-operative. Even for a supposedly shared goal.
Just too easy to revert to type. Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. So Gazans with a Fatah allegiance are desperate to leave that dessicated, hopeless geography where they know they'll be hunted down and sent to their reward. Whole families desperately await the elusive opportunity to leave that friendless enclave. Hamas isn't thrilled with the leakage and targets the would-be double-refugees.
Hamas militia are firing grenades and automatic weapons on those desperate to flee Gaza to find refuge in the West Bank. Although Israel has permitted some ranking Gazans to make that transition, they've balked over permitting all those hopefuls to pass through. Despite Israeli humanitarian organizations calling on the state to permit these Palestinians passage to the West Bank. A disappointing decision by "political echelons" to refuse passage. For shame.
The usual chaotic anarchy of Gaza was inordinately difficult, but yet livable. Adding a blood-thirsty revenge-seeking Hamas militia to the situation makes it truly unlivable, a place of furious desperation. If you're a Palestinian Christian, you're yet another target. Hamas militias looted Fatah government offices and private homes, but they also targeted a Roman Catholic Church and Christian schools, destroying bibles and other religious profanities to Islam.
Official Hamas disclaims responsibility, blames these atrocities on criminal gangs. How disingenuously unkind to name one's own in such a manner.
Hamas is busy on many fronts. They've taken time out from hunting down the cowering Fatah loyalists to fire Qassam rockets into Israel.
A taste of the future.
Labels: Middle East, Religion, Troublespots
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, June 19, 2007
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