Israel formally suspended all security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority today. Hamas said this amounted to "a declaration of war".
It was a tense day for the new Islamofascist state.Earlier, European Union foreign ministers added to the mix by approving a halt in direct EU aid to the Hamas government. And the French consulate in Jerusalem declined visa requests by two Hamas delegates invited to the European Parliament gathering in Strasbourg.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement in Gaza that Israel's decision to sever contacts with the Palestinian Authority constituted "a declaration of war and a failed attempt to cause internal divisions among Palestinians".
I guess homicide bombings, daily rocket attacks and genocidal rhetoric are just the Palestinian way of saying `Let's be friends'!
Tension between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah factions are at the breaking point.Abbas, wisely, is staying out of reach and traveling in Europe and the Arab world.
And cash flow has become a major concern, since the pledged money from the Saudis, the Arab League and Iran has mostly not come through yet.
Hamas will either have to somehow unify the various factions and modify it's stance towards Israel(doubtful)or ramp up the war in hopes of forcing Israel into a settlement...which would alienate its new friends in Iran.
Another possibility, and one which the Jerusalem Post's Carolyn Glick explored is a scenarion where Hamas completely takes over Gaza and Jordan and Israel negotiate borders for Judea and Samaria, terminating the Palestinian Authority's rule.
Could happen. Jordan's King Hussein proposed that very thing in the early 1970's, but Israel's Yitzhak Rabin dithered around and wouldn't give him an answer.
The upshot was that the Arab League met and appointed the PLO and Arafat the sole spokespeople for the Palestinians..and you know where that led.
It's fascinating to me that an Islamist, anti-Western government like the Palestinians has continued to be the receiver of so much Western largesse and attention; they even have an entire UN agency (UNRWA) devoted entirely to them.
ReplyDeleteIn view of what happened to the billions they received under arafat, I would think that the West would be welcoming an opportunity to turn off the taps.
It was the Arabs who CAUSED the so-called `refugee' crisis in 1948 by attacking Israel. Let THEM pay the freight for this dysfunctional enclave for a change.