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Hamas is the Big Winner These Days

(Ha'aretz) Danny Rubinstein - Why doesn't Abu Mazen carry out security reforms immediately? The retirement (including dismissal) of hundreds of people, and the appointment of young officers, are all personal issues that are hard to act on. Most of the veteran commanders have been in the same positions for years and there are many with a great deal of power. In addition, almost all the officers are connected to the Fatah movement and having party backing makes it very difficult to remove them from their jobs. It is not certain that Abu Mazen will be able to carry out the reform without arousing the anger of large circles of people. The Fatah movement is becoming very weak. The general public is feeling disdain toward its leaders. In a variety of ways, they have repeatedly been accusing them, saying: We are tired of your corruption. The quarrels and the rifts in Fatah, the Palestinian ruling party, are steadily increasing, to the point where sometimes it seems that the senior members of Fatah have decided to commit political suicide in the elections to the legislative council three months from now. The beneficiary from this is Hamas, whose style has become more confident and more vigorous. Last week, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal said that soon the so-called Third PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) will be established. The First PLO was established by Egypt and Ahmed Shukeiri, and was active during 1964-1968. The Second PLO belonged to Fatah and Arafat, operating from 1968 until the present. Now we are about to see the establishment of the Third PLO which, in Mashal's words, is "a PLO where there will no longer be a Fatah movement monopoly." A political revolution is beginning in Palestinian society and government. How will relations between Israel and the Palestinians look if and when the leaders of Hamas assume key positions in the PLO and the PA?
2005-04-04 00:00:00
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