Fighting and infighting continues in Gaza, Palestine. Intriguing part is, enemy keeps changing. Now the issue is no longer Palestine-Israel fight. It is a clash within two groups in Gaza, Hamas and Fatah. Further, there are rifts within clans supporting Fatah.
Hamas wants to control and rule over 1.5 million Palestinians in the coastal Gaza strip. On Saturday, in retaliation to earlier bombing, Hamas attacked the Hilles clan, whose chief had been associated with Fatah. Interestingly, the clan members sought refuge at Israeli border. More intriguing part unfolded when Fatah too tried to distance itself from this clan. So, members of Hilles, who fled during the attack by Hamas, had no option but to be at mercy of Israel!
This twisted drama unfolded after clash between the Hilles clan and Hamas on Saturday which left 11 people dead. Scores of clan members ran towards Israeli border to escape death. Israel, which is negotiating peace with Fatah in West Bank in order to isolate Hamas, allowed some 181 people to cross into Israel. Twenty two of them had to be hospitalized and rest had to be put up in military base. The basic understanding was that they’ll be transferred safely to West Bank, but Fatah leaders in West Bank did’t want these 181 people, making it clear that the relation between the Hilles clan and Fatah is not good. Officially, though Fatah leaders in West Bank are not making any such statement.
Israel tried sending clan members back to Gaza in groups. But the moment first group entered Gaza it was arrested by Hamas. After uproar from human rights groups, the rest were not sent back. Later right wing groups within Israel urged to detain these people. Hence some of them are being questioned at military base in Israel itself. They now face charges of being terrorists, of having engaged in anti-Israel activities and for having shot Israeli soldiers and launched rockets at Israeli town. In short Hilles,clan got saved and arrested by Israel while trying to escape death from Hamas.
In a way, Israel did gain a moral advantage for respecting the negotiations with Fatah and letting in 181 fleeing people from Palestine. Infighting in Gaza is making Israel-Palestine conflicts more complex to resolve through peace negotiations mediated by Egypt.
source: IHT
Comments
Now this is not a fight between two nations but two nations and three political parties and each man/woman to his/her own.. Dreams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiations taking place look like a crude joke when there is so much more to it. And here we are.. Watching a tragedy unfold everyday in the Palestinian land. I personally feel it is the UN’s (Yes people, we must continue acknowledging it’s presence)and not the US’s responsibility to meddle in other countries’ affairs.. What they need there is some kind of an elite UN force.. In Israel and in Palestine. And FORCE everyone to the negotiation table.. If they don’t want to negotiate, sanctions on both the nations seem like a good idea
It is sad to see the Palestinians fighting each other rather than fighting their only enemy which is Israel, I agree with that. However, that does not mean that both sides are in the same position. Before we judge anyone, we should return back to the near history when Hamas won the election. That was the turning point when everyone in the world directly (USA& the Quartet) or indirectly (the EU and Arabs) tried to isolate Hamas whereas that isolation led to isolating the whole people in Gaza and West Bank. Fatah was part of this anti lobbying that was established against Hamas not because of its worry about the people but for one reason; to gain the authority and positions that were lost to Hamas. More deep, Fatah started hardening everything and agreed to become a tool to be used to make Hamas fall. This of course led to hard struggling of Hamas to hold and keep what it gained and of course fight everyone including Fatah for that. Fatah even agreed to stand on Israel side and fight together Hamas and that is why most of Palestinians see them as spies and old deteriorated leadership. That does not mean that Hamas is not responsible for what we have in here but comparing to what Fatah did it is almost nothing. Considering all of this, Israel did not act from the humanitarian point of view when it agreed to have the escaped Fatah members 3 days ago; why because simply Israel had put a siege on Gaza for more than 14 months. More than 230 persons whom were old men and women and kids died because they were sick and were prevented by Israel from traveling to get the medical treatment which they needed to live. For one particular reason which had even mentioned by the Israelis; it was because those escapers fought Hamas and Israel welcome anyone who fights or even fought against Hamas. So it is never about humanity.
Arabs have been killing Arabs since long before Mohammed was born, and have apparently never stopped. Even the ”Golden Years” of Islam were rife with internecine warfare between clans, tribes and dynasties.
Mr. Azzam Ahmad, it’s time that Arabs started taking responsibility for their own actions instead of blaming everyone they can think of except themselves.
I guess you are the best person put these conflicts in right perspective for all of us who are observing from outside.
Unfortunately since Fatah has distanced themselves, some of these escapees have been arrested by Israel. It is common people of Palestine who are getting divided and killed.
it is time, I agree but then please ask USA to stop its support to the corrupted arab dectators whom are only surviving because of the amercian support. In addition, it is never about Islam and it is not like what you mention. It might be your point of view or way of understanding. However, we have experienced the world under USA & Israel rulling.