A Palestinian Divide

There were no winners from the latest power struggle between Hamas and Fatah in the Middle East. Hamas has won power in Gaza, but is likely to become even more isolated than before, especially if it implements a radical Islamic agenda. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the Fatah leader, is winning plaudits from Israel and the United States for sacking the Hamas-dominated “unity” government set up just five months ago, but this risks reinforcing the damaging perception that Fatah is a tool of Israel and the West.

The likely scenario, at least in the short term, is that of a Hamas- ruled Gaza and a Fatah-controlled West Bank, setting back the goal of a unified and viable Palestinian state. It was this prospect which the creation of the Saudi Arabian- brokered unity government sought to avoid, after Hamas had earlier won the Palestinian election of January 2006.

In retrospect, the enmity between the two factions made a workable government highly unlikely. Abbas, who is elected separately, set about eroding Hamas in the Gaza, refusing to hand over control of the security forces to the Hamas-led government, in the process compounding the unpopularity of Fatah there.

Hamas, having acquired control of Gaza, now faces the problem of how it uses this power. To date, its growing support among Palestinians has been based on the fact that it was not Fatah, an organisation compromised by corruption, power struggles and an on- again, off-again peace process which had produced little tangible progress for ordinary people. Against this, Hamas offered social- welfare programmes and a more disciplined organisation.

Now the real face of Hamas might be shown in Gaza. This is an organisation which has not renounced continued armed struggle to destroy Israel, which is backed by Syria and Iran. Its goal of creating an Islamic state has raised the spectre of a repressive fundamentalist regime in Gaza or, as some have termed it, “Hamastan”. The faction’s hardline history suggests that it will not lightly abandon these goals.

Hamas must also confront the economic deprivation which exists among Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants. This will be exacerbated by the economic sanctions of Israel, which is concerned at the security threat posed by Hamas’s gunpoint seizure of power in Gaza at the same time as Lebanon faces renewed instability.

To further marginalise Hamas, the United States and the European Union have turned the aid taps back on for the new government appointed by Abbas. Israel will hand over tax revenues which had been frozen after the Hamas election victory and has opened the door to renewed peace talks.

These efforts to reward Abbas for ousting the Hamas-led government underline the risk he faces of being seen as a client of the United States and Israel. He will require more than economic aid to strengthen his credibility. Abbas must show that he has learnt the lessons of the past and reform Fatah, or risk sectarian violence on the West Bank.

For its part, Israel must back its talk about renewed peace talks with concessions, such as greater travel freedom, to show that the process is worth persevering with. This might help to wean support from the radical Hamas to the more moderate Fatah in Gaza, but this will take time. Until then, the prospect of a single Palestinian state must remain a remote dream.

(c) 2007 Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.