[New York Times] Ethan Bronner - In truth, the relationship between the Fatah leadership in the West Bank and the Hilles clan in Gaza was poor. Mahmoud Abbas was angry that the clan stood on the sideline when fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza in June 2007. Generally the clan cares about itself more than about either party. Send them back to Gaza, Abbas told the Israelis. In the end, 88 of the men were sent to Jericho, several dozen others were sent to Gaza, while 16 were still in the hospital in Israel. So for now, the Hilles clan has been neutralized, Hamas has increased its power, Fatah leaders are seen as two-timing and indecisive, and Israel helped save the lives of some of its enemies. "When a person is faced with the choice of being killed by his own people or arrested by his enemy, he will prefer to be arrested by his enemy," said Fatah lawmaker Sufian Abu Zaida.
2008-08-05 08:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive