The Other War In Gaza

There is a civil war going on in the Palestinian Authority (including the killing of children). This was not entirely unpredictable (more here) or unexpected.

A Palestinian civil war is a good thing.

Unless and until we know who represents and speaks for the Palestinians, negotiations are pointless. Hamas are religious fundamentalists. Fatah are more secular. They are at odds with each other at the most basic level. They cannot be reconciled, any more than Catholics could reconcile reconcile with Madeline Murray O’Hare. They have two very different ideologies and they have two very different visions of what a Palestinian state would look like (The Hamas Christmas gift to Palestinian Christians came in the form of the legalization of crucifixion). Nice way to show the caring side of 21st Shariah Law).

Hamas ideologues sees a Middle East that is judenrein and make no apologies for that. The Palestinian Authority wants to see a more secular and progressive state with a strong economy. They too make no secret of their hatred for Jews, but they are more pragmatic. Without Israel, a Palestinian state will be doomd to fail (It isn't as if there are huge economic engines, progressive economies and great job prospects in Lebanon, Syria or Egypt). What both sides do have in common is an addiction to corruption (a disease that also infects virtually every Arab state). The difference is that the PA understand that there is more corruption to be had with a strong economy. Hamas ideology seeks an Islamic state, even a poor Islamic state, as long as there is Jewish blood on their hands.

Neither Israel or the west can assume a cogent negotiation strategy until we know who speaks for the Palestinians. To believe we can negotiate with Hamas and Fatah at the same time is to not understand in the least Middle East realities.

Assertions that we in the west are in error for not recognizing and dealing with the democratically elected Hamas regime are absurd.

…Adolph Hitler too, came to power by way of democratic elections. Had free European nations boycotted or even eliminated the Nazi leadership, 50 million lives would have been spared. We are under no obligation to recognize or support any regime, even if democratically elected, that promises ‘rivers of blood.’

We have also noted that the Nazis attempted to hide their evil intentions. Hamas cannot be bothered- and for good reason. The Nazi ideology was not fully known or understood by the Germans until after Hitler was in power. Hamas has never made a secret of it’s ideologies and beliefs that have espoused hate, racism, bigotry and violence. The Palestinians that voted for Hamas knew exactly what and who they were voting for. They made very clear who and what they are, as do the Arab nations that support Hamas.

National political parties and social service agencies that want to be considered moral equals to with those in the western world cannot preach and teach hate- and be surprised when violence becomes a way of life. Hamas and Jihad for example, make no effort to hide their bigoted and racist agenda. In fact, Hamas, Jihad, et al, are no different than the Ku Klux Klan and other neo-Nazi organizations (many of which maintain relationships with Hamas).

Imagine a the Ku Klux Klan insisting it were the equivalent of other political party and organizations. Imagine a network of Ku Klux Klan schools. What do you suppose that curriculum would be like? Now, imagine that the children that attended those schools went home every day and were then exposed to Klan TV. Imagine those ideologies reinforced by the clergy, each week.

Imagine Klan summer camps that taught children guerrilla warfare and how to kill the neighbors they hated.

Imagine Klan schools, camps and other institutions bordered on a black, Jewish, Catholic or other immigrant neighborhoods.

Do you still see Hamas in the same way?

If Hamas wins the civil war, their ideologies and beliefs will no longer be camouflaged. we will know how to deal with these same ideologues that supported Saddam Hussein. If the PA wins the civil war, they will have to make some serious choices, or the cycle of internal violence will repeat itself. The only thing that is certain is that neither the western democracies or Israel will allow for another 40 years of Arafat type obfuscation, double talk and hypocrisy from the Palestinians.

If those who have the need to defend those for whom their entire raison d’etre is hate, let them embrace the Ku Klux Klan- they are no different than Hamas and Hizbollah, In fact, they have been far less violent. It is a match made in heaven.

To be clear- this civil war is both inevitable and necessary. If anything, the western boycott of the Hamas government probably impeded the start of the civil war. Had Hamas and the PA had access to huge sums of money, they would have armed themselves to the teeth and moved to eliminate the competition a whole lot faster.

Let them fight it out. We will deal with one party and not two- and that winning party will be held accountable. Once and for all, there will be clarity- for the Palestinians and ourselves.

Because of the corruption, dysfunction and manipulation of their 'leaders,' both political and religious, yet another generation will be lost.

That is the real tragedy.