Careful readers will remember that I predicted 10 days ago that some senior Fatah leaders, including Hani al Hassan, may turn on the Fatah wing that is seen as standing too close to the US and Israel.
Hani al Hassan
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday that has been generating a lot of buzz, Hassan did just that. He told Al Jazeera that the fighting in Gaza was between Hamas and Fatah collaborators only, just as Hamas has been saying. He called Hamas’ takeover a defeat for the plans of American Major General Keith Dayton and his Fatah followers. He took a veiled swipe at Dahlan as well.
Yesterday, President Abbas fired Hassan from his job as adviser to the president. Hassan, 68, is one of the founders of the PLO and Fatah. He was a senior adviser to Arafat and Interior Minister in 2002 at the height of the second Palestinian intifada.
Watch for the growing rift inside Fatah between those who favor dialog and reconciliation with Hamas and those who insist on toeing the US/Israeli line and continuing to ignore the Islamists in Gaza.
4 responses so far ↓
1 lirun // Jun 30, 2007 at 10:05 pm
so what impact do u think a fatah rift will have on the west bank..
2 sian mallow // Jul 1, 2007 at 1:41 pm
now Charles that your friends in Hamas have taken over you claim that there is security and safety for one and all so what is this all about? And why not report on it?
A little less pro-Hamas politics and a little more journalism Charles ..
Top Palestinian journalist seeks asylum in Norway
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183053071940&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
3 Kebz // Jul 1, 2007 at 3:43 pm
It seems to me that Charles was talking about stability in relative terms compared to the recent past. Nobody suggests that there is absolute peace and security. The fact that clans such as the Dogmoush and other groups associated with Fatah are still operating is evidence that Hamas rule is hardly the iron fist bent on establishing an Islamic state, that Western media outlets claim. I see nothing in the article that contradicts Charles and a lot that supports what he says here.
4 Charles Levinson // Jul 1, 2007 at 4:11 pm
lirun — a fatah rift will just further fracture what is already a very sick organization. but more importantly, if a group within fatah stands against Abu Mazen’s pro-West pro-negotiation policy, then the so-called moderate Palestinian leadership that Israel and the US are willing to work with will start to look increasingly illegitimate. That will at least make the US relationship with Palestinians similar to its relationship with other Mideast regimes.
sian mallow — i did report on it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/01/wmid101.xml
And I never said Gaza was Eden, but there is no doubt that people feel a greater sense of security in the streets now than they did before Hamas siezed power. Who knows if it will last.
And lastly, discussion of this whole conflict is totally poisoned with attitudes like yours, in which any objective observation that reflects at all positively on the other team is discounted as propaganda and lies.
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