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Clashes by Rival Militias Bring Palestine to the
Brink of Civil War
by Gerry Foley / June 2006 issue Socialist Action
For the last month or more, the two largest
organizations in the Palestinian territories, Hamas and Fatah, have
teetered on the brink of civil war.
Hamas bypassed the Palestinian Authority
government headed by Fatah leader Mahmud Abbas to form a 3000-man special
police force charged with restoring order in the Gaza strip. To head it, it
appointed Jamal Abu Samhadaneh, a Hamas fighter high on the Zionist state’s
wanted list. In response, Fatah formed a new militia force.
In a May 3 dispatch, Reuters quoted a
spokesperson for the new militia, Al-Mua’tasem Billah, as follows: “The
[Fatah] force will be assigned to protect Fatah's sons and Fatah's
institutions against attacks, whether from Israel or from parties inside
the [PA] home.”
On May 8, a major gun battle developed
between Fatah and Hamas fighters. Three of those involved were killed. Ten
were wounded. Hamas claimed that the confrontation was initiated when Fatah
members tried to kidnap three of its people.
The following day, Hamas fighters attacked
a funeral demonstration for a Fatah man who had been killed in the clash.
Three were wounded. Dozens of Fatah and Hamas fighters rushed to the scene,
and more shooting erupted. Eight persons were wounded, including five
children.
A dispatch on the website of the Arab
nationalist TV channel Al Jazeera reported May 9: “Both Fatah and Hamas
called for an end to violence after the early morning clash.
“’We must show self-restraint, end all
displays of arms, and employ only dialogue,’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
of Hamas told a solidarity rally of about 1500 people outside his Gaza City
office.”
Then, on May 17, shortly after Hamas deployed its new
militia in Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas ordered the
PA security police, which is dominated by Fatah, to patrol the area
to “maintain order.” The two forces were face to face and fears
escalated of clashes between them.
On May 22, a serious clash occurred. The
French newspaper of record, Le Monde, reported the same day: “A Jordanian was
killed and seven other persons wounded … in confrontations between members
of the security forces and armed men of the Islamic movement Hamas near the
Palestinian parliament building in Gaza. Members of the special force under
the authority of the Hamas-led ministry of the interior opened fire on a
car carrying members of the Fatah dominated security force.”
The following day, May 23, the
liberal Zionist daily Haaretz reported: “Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip
are certain that Hamas is behind the two latest assassination attempts on
senior members of the Palestinian Authority's security services. Fatah
considers this an escalation in the violent struggle and deems itself
obligated to respond in kind. This is the assessment of senior defense
officials in Israel, in view of the events of the past few days in Gaza.”
On May 24, AP reported that the head of the
PA security force in central Gaza had been killed by a car bomb. The
dispatch continued: “In other violence, masked gunmen seized three Hamas militants
outside a mosque and shot them. One of the men died at a hospital. Hundreds
of gunmen loyal to Hamas marched through the streets of Gaza City in
military-style formation, raising assault rifles and copies of the Quran.”
The May 24 Haaretz reported a demonstration
of former Fatah members who had gone over to Hamas: “Some 1000 Palestinians
wearing black-and-yellow Fatah shirts and wielding Korans and assault
weapons marched in Gaza City on Wednesday in support of the Hamas-led
government.
According to Palestinian sources, the armed men are
former Fatah members organized by Hamas in an attempt to present the rival
Fatah as a fractured movement.”
On May 25, Reuters reported that Israel had
agreed to provide weapons to Abbas’ personal guard to protect him against
assassination. But the dispatch added: “Western diplomats had told Reuters
earlier this month that European donors had pledged funds to boost Abbas'
security forces, while his aides said Egypt and Jordan had pledged arms and
ammunition to help his presidential guard protect him.” This suggests that
the imperialists and the neocolonial Arab states are offering military aid
to Abbas to use in a war with Hamas.
The confrontation between Fatah and Hamas
is also taking place on the political level. Abbas has said that as
president of the PA he has the power to dissolve the Hamas government
formed on the basis of the Islamic movement’s victory in the Palestinian
legislative elections. Hamas is saying that if he does that, it will not
recognize his decision and may even “go underground.”
Abbas has also called for a July 31
referendum to get support for negotiations with Israel, in an attempt to
force Hamas to recognize the Zionist state. The Hamas government has
dismissed the referendum as a waste of time and money. But Abbas has the
advantage that he can base his order on a proposal worked out by Fatah and
Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails, to which Islamic Jihad, another major
player in the guerrilla war against Israel, has just adhered.
The referendum document calls for setting
up a Palestinian state in the territories conquered by Israel in 1967. This
has been interpreted by some commentators as a two-state solution, which
would recognize Israel. It has also been interpreted as calling for an end
to attacks within the pre-1967 borders of Israel, since it recommends
focusing resistance on the occupied territories.
However, Abbas wants to use the referendum as a lever to
force the Hamas government to explicitly recognize Israel.
The imperialist governments and Israel are
using the fact that Hamas has refused to offer a definitive recognition of
the Zionist state as an excuse for cutting off aid and denying the
Palestinian government the revenues to which it is entitled. Employees of
the PA, who bring in a fourth to a third of the wages in the Palestinian
territories, have not been paid in two months.
The Hamas government is promising to pay
the PA employees in the first few days of June. But it obviously is having
trouble getting funds. Although some Arab states have promised financial
aid, the West Bank is isolated by Israeli forces.
One indication of what Hamas is trying to
do was the arrest of Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas leader, on May 19 at the
Egyptian border of the Gaza strip. He was carrying 500,000 euros, which he
said were intended for Palestinian relief. But the smuggling of hard cash,
as this incident shows, is difficult and cannot be relied upon.
Later, the Hamas government said that it
would only pay the salaries of the 40,000 employees who earn 1500 shekels
[$330] a month or less and advance 1500 shekels to the 125,000 who earn
more.
On June 1, Palestinian security police
demanding their full pay staged an armed demonstration at the PA parliament
building in Gaza, during which they fired shots at the building. Al Jazeera
reported: “‘The 1500 shekels are not enough to pay debts, buy milk and
diapers,’ said one banner stuck to the gate of parliament.”
It is obvious that the financial squeeze on
the Hamas government is driving the confrontation between Hamas and Fatah.
That is undoubtedly what the Zionists and their imperialist sponsors want.
The growing conflict among Palestinian factions is a boon for them.
The Palestinian national movement desperately
needs unity. But it is unlikely to be able to achieve it within the
framework of a two-state strategy aiming for the creation of a Palestinian
mini-state alongside Israel, with a Palestinian bureaucracy. (In reality,
despite some tougher talk, Hamas shares this two-state strategy.)
This strategy makes any group that accepts
it vulnerable to blackmail by the Zionists and their big brothers. The only
alternative is a revolutionary strategy of fighting for the democratic
rights of Arab people in all of Palestine, and for a democratic secular
Palestine in which Arabs and Jews can live together based on their common
long-term interests.
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