Is it a Palestinian Civil War at this point?

[Howard Beale]

From CNN.com.

Hamas fighters in Gaza trained their weapons on the the headquarters of the Fatah-aligned Preventive Security Service, announcing over a loudspeaker, "the warning which we have given you to surrender has ended, and we will attack this position of Zionist collaborators," The Associated Press reported.

"We received orders at the highest level to defend ourselves," the AP quoted one officer inside the headquarters as saying.

Is this a Civil War yet, or just more of politics by way of the gun as has been going on for a while now from what I can make of it?

A related question:

What should Israel do if the fighting between Hamas and Fatah escalates further (if anything)?

[Howard Beale]

No interest, I see, but here's the latest anyway:

AP report on Yahoo.

The head of the Egyptian mediation team, Lt. Col. Burhan Hamad, said neither side responded to his call to hold truce talks. "It seems they don't want to come. We must make them ashamed of themselves. They have killed all hope. They have killed the future," said Hamad, who brokered several previous short-lived cease-fires.

Hamad said both sides were about equal in firepower. "Neither can have a decisive victory," he said. "To be decisive, they need weapons that neither side has."

[adios]

So much for democracy in the Gaza strip and I guess the road map to peace doesn't seem to be achievable at this point. Israel states that they're not helping either side but I would think that they'd have an interest in seeing Fatah prevail. So would the U.S. IMO. Iran would seemingly want Hamas to prevail. Looks like more of the "proxy war" that has been reported on in various places.

[Rearden]

I think it is close to that point sure...

I think Israel doesn't really mind. However; I will be curious what if any steps they take to support a side or a solution or what specific boundaries they have before they step in so to speak.

I think this is a pretty damning situation to those that want to believe that the Palestinians are this totally peacefully people battling righteously against Israeli domination. Its the middle east; everything is in shades of gray.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
I think it is close to that point sure...

I think Israel doesn't really mind. However; I will be curious what if any steps they take to support a side or a solution or what specific boundaries they have before they step in so to speak.

I think this is a pretty damning situation to those that want to believe that the Palestinians are this totally peacefully people battling righteously against Israeli domination. Its the middle east; everything is in shades of gray.

[/ QUOTE ]

The U.S. and Israel will be blamed for not supporting the elected Hamas government eventually IMO.

[Zeno]

Update: Fierce Battles Spread to Central Gaza

Other News: Shimon Peres Elected President of Israel

Looks like all out war at this point. Hard to tell what the outcome will be except more volience on the horizon. If Hamas wins then they can spend their hatred aganist Jews and other Zionists with an all out attact on Israel. Perhaps by the dog days of Summer.

-Zeno

[Coco]

From the lack of discussion on this board, a logical conclusion is that nobody really cares about this.

Why?

Aren't people concerned that the UNWRA is "...extremely concerned for the plight of the one million refugees who depend on UNRWA’s food assistance and medical serv[ic]es,"?

This is very similar to how the world yawned at what has been going on in Lebanon with the Palestinians:

"On May 20, government troops surrounded the camp, with tanks and artillery pieces shelling it at close range. Army snipers gunned down anything that moved. At least 18 civilians were killed, and dozens more injured. Water and electricity were cut off. By week’s end, much of the camp had been turned into deserted rubble. Thousands of terrified residents fleeing the camp reported harrowing stories of famished, parched families trapped in their basements." (www.canada.com)

I think the answer is rather simple: Hillel Neuer has said it best

UN speech: Israel couldn't be blamed

[Goater]

The lack of interest is not surprising in the slightest. When Arabs/Muslims slaughter each other, nobody cares. When an Israeli soldier or an IDF action causes the death of innocent people, people are outraged. 60 Palestinians have been killed in the last 4 days at the hands of Palestinians - more than were killed during the so called masacre in Jenin a few years ago.

Gaza has been handed entirely to the Palestinians - there is no Israeli presence there at all. It seems therefore that the legacy of Arafat is now entirely clear. All he ever did was keep the focus on Israel and avoid civil war at all costs. The Palestinians have cultivated and actively nurtured a culture of death, violence and the ideal of martyrdom. When the Israelis left Gaza, they descended into utter hell. When they have no Jews to direct this towards, they inevitably turn this inwards. It is simply not possible to cultivate this sort of society and then turn off the switch when the Jews leave. They are reaping what they have sown. Hamas - who they elected - have caused the worst disaster the Palestinians have ever experienced.

Imagine the alternative scenario. Israel leaves the Gaza strip. The Palestinians do not rocket Israel daily and do not massacre and execute each other. They begin to take care of their own people. The world sees that they are deserving of a state and pressure increases on Israel to leave the West Bank. Wouldnt that have been the best chance of the Palestinians for a state of their own? That is, after all what they say they want. I would absolutely support the wihdrawal of the vast majority of the west bank if this scenario had happened and I know that the majority of Israelis would. The majority of Israelis are desperate to leave the territories and just need to be shown a glimmer of hope that the territories would not become an Islamic territory dedicated to the killing of Jews regardless of the cost to innocent Palestinian lives.

It is time that the Palestinians take responsibility for their own fates. Yes, I know that people will say "how can they take responsibility under occupation!?" - well, either they want a state of their own or they dont. The "occupation" and the situation they find themeselves in is a fact whether they like it or not. If they really want a state of their own as their number one priority (and not the destruction of Israel) then all they have to do is show Israelis that they can be trusted to not commit to the murder of Jews whenever the opportunity arises - unfortunately, the events of the last few weeks have shown that they are incapable of this and have condemned everyone in the region to decades of violence, despair and hatred.

[SNOWBALL]

I really don't like Fatah, but I hope they win. If Israel gets involved, it can only make things worse. Fatah will become simultaneously less popular and more powerful, and the age of repression by Fatah of the palestinian people will return and intensify.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]

The lack of interest is not surprising in the slightest. When Arabs/Muslims slaughter each other, nobody cares. When an Israeli soldier or an IDF action causes the death of innocent people, people are outraged.

[/ QUOTE ]

I care about all murders. However, I only feel responsible for ones that myself or my country are involved in. The USA pays for IDF armaments, and therefore I am more responsible for the IDF's behavior than I am for the behavior or hamas or fatah.