Reidel on Hamas takeover of Gaza, bitterlemons-international.org, 8/16/2007
August 28, 2007 9:14 am Religion and Nationalism, Hamas, Israeli-Palestinian conflictReidel Hamas - jumped, provoked, and pushed, bitterlemons-international.org, 8/16/2007
So a heady mix of Hamas firebrands eager for war, the barely concealed American and Israeli desire to reverse the results of the 2006 elections and pressure from both the Shi’ite and Sunni global jihadist centers created the explosive mix last June. Finally, of course, there was also the incompetence of the Fateh leadership. How much each factor alone counted is impossible to know; the combination is what mattered. The question now is, will Hamas be able to exploit its posture as the “real” voice of Palestine to undermine a “quisling” Fateh in the West Bank, where it is even more dependent on Israeli and US support and especially IDF bayonets to survive?