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What Failed in Gaza Won't Work in the West Bank

[Wall Street Journal, 21Jun07] Editorial - Abbas may have expelled Hamas from the PA government, but the Fatah party he leads has terrorist links of its own, not to mention a 40-year reputation for corruption. If "supporting Fatah" is now the Administration's policy, we are in for rougher times ahead. The Bush Administration continued to funnel money to Abbas and Fatah after Hamas took control of parliament. Yet Fatah's troops were routed last week despite being better armed and far more numerous than Hamas. Why the same recipe that failed in Gaza should now work in the West Bank is anyone's guess. The U.S. might be better served if it began to call on its allies in the Arab world to show some leadership. Egypt, Gaza's other neighbor, also has much to fear from a terrorist movement with historic links to the Muslim Brotherhood and current links to Iran. At a minimum, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak must finally get serious about stopping the flow of arms from the Sinai to Gaza. Above all, the flow of Saudi money to violent Palestinian factions needs to be addressed and stopped. All of this runs contrary to the State Department's efforts to make yet another big push toward establishing a Palestinian state. If events of the last week demonstrate nothing else, that idea has been laid to rest by the Palestinians themselves.
2007-06-21 01:00:00
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