(Jerusalem Post) Barry Rubin - How is Hamas going to displace Fatah without setting off a civil war? Every PA government ministry, the media, and the PA-controlled monopolies are full of people who are there to collect salaries in exchange for supporting Fatah. The PA is an internationally funded welfare state (Palestinians pay no general taxes) based on government employment. Generally, those receiving a salary do nothing much to earn it. Thus money is funneled into political patronage rather than economic development. If Hamas pushes out tens of thousands of Fatah, or at least nationalist, employees and replaces them with an equal number of Hamas, or at least Islamist, ones, those who are laid off will pick up guns and start shooting.
2006-02-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive