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How and Why the Palestinians Lost Palestine

(Times of Israel) Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad - We have always held the Arab regimes responsible for the loss of Palestine and have equally faulted the Western regimes for their collusion and unlimited support for Israel. But what is our share in bearing responsibility? Many applauded us at international forums and we received "theoretical" recognition as a country. But where is the practical result on the ground? Oddly, everyone believes they are close to achieving their goals: Fatah believes it's a step away from achieving statehood, while Hamas thinks it's on the brink of liberating Palestine. Yet the struggle has become intra-Palestinian, in which each of the sides tries to prove that his option is best and the other's has failed. We tried a Fatah government and corruption was rampant in both the administrative and security services. Then came a national unity government, but it only took two months before it reached its demise. As has become our custom, we are rushing from failure to greater failure. As a result - after six decades - Palestine has vanished and its blood has been divided between the different tribes/factions. This op-ed, published in recent days in Arab media, was translated by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2015-01-07 00:00:00
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