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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117090533632401854.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep
Palestine's House Divided
[Wall Street Journal] Editorial - At least 20 Palestinians were killed last week in gun battles pitting Fatah against Hamas. Most of the internecine killing has taken place in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal of 8,000 settlers in 2005, who once were seen as the primary obstacle to Palestinian development. So much, then, for the notion that what is mainly needed for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement is a change in Israeli policies. If the experience of Gaza demonstrates anything, it is that the absence of Israeli occupation is not a sufficient condition for a Palestinian state. The U.S. must insist that Abbas dismantle Hamas as a military entity, by force if necessary. Lebanon already provides a depressing example of what happens to a state that tolerates an independent militia such as Hizbullah within its borders. As with Hizbullah, Iran has now become Hamas' primary financial and perhaps military backer. Palestinians were entitled to elect Hamas to parliament, but that choice hardly obliges the world to support a government part of which is sworn to Israel's destruction. The aid cut-off has been the one effective tool in bolstering Abbas and delegitimizing Hamas among Palestinians.