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Hamas Supremacy in Gaza Is in Doubt

[Ha'aretz] Avi Issacharoff - The recent clashes made it clear that Hamas' supremacy in Gaza is in doubt. At the beginning of the week in Gaza, militants stopped passing cars to check for activists of their rival organization. If a "wanted man" was found in a vehicle, he was kidnapped immediately. Snipers and militants armed with rockets took positions on top of tall buildings. In Jabalya, Hamas forces tried to surround the homes of key operatives in the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in order to kill them. The arguments in the media over how to define the battles sounded almost disconnected from reality in light of the war that had already begun. Almost all Gaza residents who are not members of Fatah or Hamas sound tired of local politics. Fatah and Hamas have a negative image among the Palestinian public. This is a familiar problem for Fatah, but Hamas, which worked so hard to create the image of the "protector of the people," has lost its credibility and come to be seen by the silent Palestinian majority as wanting the best only for its own people rather than looking out for the good of the public at large.
2007-02-02 01:00:00
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