David Bedein, the Director of the Center for Near East Policy Research in Jerusalem and Bureau Chief of the Israel Resource News Agency, said that this fighting should not be interpreted as a sign that Fatah is a force for peace.
“There is no peace process. What you have here is a series of jockeying of positions before the next round of active war,” Bedein told FrontPage. He continued, “In the Levantine culture, there are rival extended families, known as Hamulot, who, during routine quarrels, will kill, torture, rape or maim one another and, the next day, sit down for dinner with one another.”
Bedein added that the Palestinian Authority is “totalitarian” and that the Hamas presence in the West Bank exists with their knowledge and permission. “At no time has the P.A. ever taken serious punitive action against Hamas in the wake of Hamas’ terror attacks,” he said.
Hamas is openly committed to Israel’s destruction and its charter is anti-Semitic. While Hamas claims it is fighting for Palestinian nationhood, it is really a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization seeking to bring the world under Shariah Law. To Hamas, the peace negotiations are a means to an end. Mahmoud al-Zahna, the chief of Hamas in Gaza, said in June that “This is our plan for this stage-to liberate the West Bank and Gaza, without recognizing Israel’s right to a single inch of
