June 5, 2005
GETTING VS GOVERNING:
As Hamas makes gains, will Abbas's ruling party unravel?: On Saturday, the Palestinian president delayed a vote amid disarray in his party. (Joshua Mitnick, 6/06/05, The Christian Science Monitor)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's decision over the weekend to postpone Palestinian parliamentary elections raised concern immediately about a confrontation with militant Hamas, poised to trounce Mr. Abbas's ruling Fatah party in a vote scheduled for next month.But after months of promising to hold the elections on July 17, the Palestinian president's reversal actually highlights the deepening tensions within his own party, analysts and officials say. It's expected now that the vote will be held this fall.
"[The delay] is not out of fear for Hamas, as so many people say," says Fatah lawmaker Ghazi Hanineyeh. "We are afraid of ourselves."
Founded by the late Yasser Arafat as the umbrella political party that galvanized Palestinian resistance to Israel, Fatah has unraveled into a loose alliance of rival factions tainted by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Delaying the vote could give Abbas enough time to reform the party and avert collapse when it faces Hamas in the legislative vote, analysts say.
Fatah has served its purpose, getting an independent state, but Hamas has been preparing to run that state for years now. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 5, 2005 7:49 PM
Hamas runs it - and Israel will destroy it, once they launch their rockets on a daily basis as they attempt to eradicate the "Zionist entity".
There will never be an independent Palestinian state for more than a year or two - then back to the "occupation" - this time, for good. They will have had their chance and will have blown it.
Posted by: obc at June 5, 2005 8:11 PMthat's certainly one of the alternatives.
Posted by: oj at June 5, 2005 8:22 PMIsrael would be stupid to engage in another occupation. Instead they should respond with a massive, disproportionate response for every rocket. Eventually the Palestinians will run out of will, money or Palestinians. If the existence of a Palestinian states allows Israel to respond to Palestinian attacks the way a normal state would respond to another state's attacks, then it will be a big step forward.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at June 6, 2005 10:25 AMisrael has a death wish. a country that genuinely wanted to survive would have created a 100 mile buffer zone after the 6 day war in '67. just push all the surrounding arabs back and level every structure and tear up every road. its not too late but they will never take the measures necessary to prevent being wiped out.
Posted by: cjm at June 6, 2005 12:15 PM