Has Gaza Descended Into Civil War?

Hamas Seizes Fatah's Security Headquarters; Fatah Considers Pulling Out Of Coalition

(CBS/AP) 

In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proposed stationing international forces along the Gaza Strip's volatile border with Egypt to prevent arms from reaching Palestinian militants, including Hamas. However, he ruled out assistance to Abbas' forces.

Hamas and Fatah have waged a power struggle in fits and spurts for the past year since Hamas won parliament elections, and Hamas was signaling Tuesday that it was moving into a decisive phase. It ignored pleas by Abbas and exasperated Egyptian mediators to honor a cease-fire, and appeared to be moving ahead according to a plan.

“Decisiveness will be in the field,” said Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas military wing.

In contrast, Fatah commanders complained they were not given clear orders by Abbas to fight back and that they had no central command. Fatah's strongman in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, has spent the last few weeks in Cairo for treatment of a knee injury. Other leading Fatah officials left Gaza for the West Bank after previous rounds of bloodshed.

“There's a difference between leading on the ground and leading by mobile phone,” police Col. Nasser Khaldi said of Dahlan's absence. “Hamas is just taking over our positions. There are no orders,” he added.

Both sides have been arming themselves in recent weeks, smuggling weapons through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

The headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza, a strategic prize for Hamas, was taken by the Islamic militants after several hours of battle. Some 200 Hamas fighters had fired mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at the compound, where some 500 Fatah loyalists were holed up and returned fire. Thirty-five jeeploads of Fatah fighters were sent as reinforcements, but never made it through Hamas roadblocks. After nightfall, Hamas seized control.

At least 12 people were killed and 30 wounded in the fighting.

Earlier, Hamas fighters also overran several smaller Fatah positions in Gaza.

Hamas gunmen also exchanged fire with Fatah forces at the southern security headquarters, in the town of Khan Younis, but had not yet launched a major assault. The town's streets were empty as people huddled indoors for shelter. One Hamas man was killed, according to Hamas and medical officials. In Gaza City, Hamas fired mortars and explosives at the pro-Fatah Preventive Security headquarters, drawing return fire from watchtowers in the compound.

Elsewhere, Fatah fighters killed four Hamas gunmen in a battle near the besieged house of a senior Fatah commander.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas defeated Fatah in January 2006 legislative elections, ending four decades of Fatah rule.

The sides agreed to share power in an uneasy coalition three months ago, but put off key disputes, including wrangling over control of the security forces. Most of the forces are dominated by Fatah loyalists, while Hamas has formed its own militia, in addition to the thousands of gunmen at its command.

Beverley Milton-Edwards, a Hamas expert at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Gaza is heading for a final showdown. “This has become the existential battle for soul of Palestinian people,” she said.

In recent days, the fighting has grown increasingly brutal. Some people were shot at close range in street executions, while one was thrown from the 15th story of a building, Mohammed Sweirki of Fatah, and shortly afterward another, Abu Kainas of Hamas, was thrown from the 12th floor. Residents huddled indoors, and university exams were canceled. In all, more than 80 people have been killed since mid-May, most of them militants.

The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, warning of a “very dangerous security situation” in Gaza, advised journalists not to travel there. They also urged American journalists who are already there to leave.

Even before the current outbreak of violence, no Western correspondents were based in Gaza. As the violence escalated this week, most reporters were staying off the streets, covering the conflict from the windows of high-rise buildings and keeping in touch with their sources by telephone.

[rhs648]

Palestine and the Palestinians are out of control. Within that ancient community there is no respect for life or the rights of individuals. There is no regard for innocent children, women, the aged or those just trying to survive. There is no government - - there never can be one.

Yet, western communities continue to dump $millions into so called humanitarian causes and attempts to bring civility to the clearly uncivilized.

It's time to close the borders - close off all aid - close of all relations. The Palestinians have clearly demonstrated that they are not worth saving. It's too *** bad because every life is precious. But, we can only help those who make at least an effort, no matter how small, to help themselves. The Palestinians have made no such effort. It's time to let them sleep in the beds they have made and the graves they have dug.

Posted by pdhlondon

You state the problems with clarity and insight. Your statements describe the problems brilliantly.

[pdhlondon]

Palestine and the Palestinians are out of control. Within that ancient community there is no respect for life or the rights of individuals. There is no regard for innocent children, women, the aged or those just trying to survive. There is no government - - there never can be one.

Yet, western communities continue to dump $millions into so called humanitarian causes and attempts to bring civility to the clearly uncivilized.

It's time to close the borders - close off all aid - close of all relations. The Palestinians have clearly demonstrated that they are not worth saving. It's too *** bad because every life is precious. But, we can only help those who make at least an effort, no matter how small, to help themselves. The Palestinians have made no such effort. It's time to let them sleep in the beds they have made and the graves they have dug.

[tuckerndfw]

Posted by j-whitman at 02:13 AM : Jun 13, 2007

We agree that Zionism is a Jewish creation.

Have a good night.

[j-whitman]

American zionism towards Isreal didn't kick off big untill after the 6 Day War..

I'm going to bed, good night.

[j-whitman]

tuckerndfw,,,, It's late, Zionism is a Jewish creation..... Principles of Zion was what the Nazi's used,,, Look it up.... Zionism is sanctioned by Isreals governement & even in the title of thier Educational Department..... Fully sanctioned today by the Isreal government.

The Jewish Agency for Isreal,, Department for Jewish Zionist Education.

http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/concepts/demography/demjpop.html

[tuckerndfw]

Posted by j-whitman at 01:48 AM : Jun 13, 2007

Zionists, as a group, Jew or Christian, tend to be extremists. That extremism allows them to justify any barbarity or cruelty in furtherance of their cause.

Zionists supported the German Nazis because it furthered their goals. The British opposed a "Jewish state," as did the US and everyone else, which led Zionists to actively collaborate with the German Nazis. The holocaust was to their benefit. To Zionists, the holocaust is the greatest event that ever happened. And, it appears they actively conspired to make it happen.

There is little or no difference between Zionists and Muslim extremists. The primary difference is that Zionists have far more effective weapons, much more money, and an international propaganda machine that never stops.

[j-whitman]

Bed time,, good night all.

[j-whitman]

tuckerndfw,,,
I read your link, I've read a lot of articles from a good many well educated people -- In Germany nazi's where anti-semites & gave us the concept of anti-sematism being only against Jews.
Zionism ie. the Protocals of Zion, distributed by the Ford's & & many others including DuPont & Prescot Bush prior too & during WW2 throughout Europe, & Germany, is what was used,, , Totally anti-sematic anti Jew ..
. Zionism became radical & Was a extream Jewish movement from that point on... I think your link was an attempt to redirect the problems it created.
, Isreal teachees Zionism in thier schools & is part of thier government... It's origin was Jewish... The British opposed strongly the creation of a Jewish State.

[feelfree1]

Re: "Unlike the Muslims who hide behind civilians"

The only country that we know, FOR SURE, with a long and chronic policy of using 'human shields', are the Israelis- proven beyond a reasonable doubt, before their own Supreme Court.

www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/oct05/1.php

The Israeli Supreme Court has banned this cowardly Israeli terrorist tactic, but there is no reason to believe that the Israelis are complying with this ban.

Amazingly, the Israelis commonly attribute this practice to their adversaries, as a pathetic excuse for their own atrocities and crimes.

The Israelis have no place criticising others for the use of 'human shields' anyway, since they have so routinely embraced this craven practice themselves.

The Israelis have truly become their own worst oppressors, and they are likely to pull the U.S. under along side them.

[tuckerndfw]

Posted by j-whitman at 01:14 AM : Jun 13, 2007

The original Zionists did not claim Jerusalem or Palestine as their preferred location. That claim did not come until 1917 when Lord Balfour, British Foreign Secretary, sent a letter to Baron Rothschild, Zionist leader in London, declaring that a Jewish homeland should be located in Palestine.

Lord Balfour and England had no lawful authority to make any such declaration and it has been disputed almost since the day it was issued.

Despite claims that the Balfour Declaration "gave" Jews Palestine as their homeland, Britain severely restricted immigration to Palestine to prevent it being overrun by Jews.

But, that changed following WWII and the holocasut inspired calls for a "Jewish homeland" in Palestine.

It appears Zionist collaboration with the German Nazis paid much better dividends than their collaborations with the Soviet Union, US & UK.

[j-whitman]

rhs648,,, We have had Palestinians in our collegs also,, they aren't far behind the others & aren't backwards people any more than others are, but they are kept isolated & have no access to many of thier business & farms...
. Yes they indeed need to go foward -- Bush turned over Middle East US policies to Isreal, so that's not likely to happen in the near future.

[afinefolly]

schools filled with dared kids, prisons with poor minorities, wars with mid-easterns, immigrants sleeping twenty to a closet, dressed people with forced into clothes, lazy ignorant profane folk treated as if scarlet lettered when more food is thrown away each day than is needed to feed the world, folk forced to invest money in those who make everyone pay, to invest votes in those who tax all at gunpoint, to invest market share in all but the most vulnerable: infants and toddlers, as kids age five and less suffer more than 99 plus % of spankings yet are 99 plus % more likely to suffer injury or death, and there's an epic quest for the olympic gold that puts far kids into wheelchairs than onto any playing field, and the worst part: it is all unneccessary. vietnam took a day to say it's over and dare a day to say it's begun. if just one percent of the resources invested in get sick soon tax the world first strike on the trail were invested in minimum wage kids age five and less dancing get well soon you are here why why why feed the world first aid on the trail songs: the world would be a place more well canvased. no more to melting japanese kids to save the people who kicked the u.s. kids out of pearl harbor. hey kids age five and less: be the wall torn down all day everyday, but be it everywhere. and congress: try not to tear it down all day everyday, and try not to everywhere.

[j-whitman]

tuckerndfw,,,

Zionist Movement founded by the Viennese Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl, who argued in his 1896 book Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) that the best way of avoiding anti-Semitism in Europe was to create an independent Jewish state in Palestine. Zionism was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem, a symbol of the Jewish homeland in Palestine since the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BC. The movement culminated in the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/browse/glossary.html

[rhs648]

The Jewish tribes where mostly highway robbbers & mercinaries, some where farmers & sheppards on what ever land they could claim... Prior to David thier is little archeological evidence of just who they where.

Posted by j-whitman

Today they are educated, successful, and years ahead of the Palestinians. If only the Palestinians exerted as much energy on building a future for their children instead of hating and warring against Israel. They should go forward. Otherwise they fall further and further behind.

[j-whitman]

rhs648.. There are many comparisons,,, The Slave Revolts in the Carolina's in the 1790's we cut thier heads off & stuck them on milage markers along the highways,, burned loyalist out of thier homes & hung them, some where even tied up & skinnned alive..... We had only a small orginized army with little finiancial backing, & many militias...
. Yes the British called them terrorists. -- To think it's a Muslem problem is flatly wrong & narrow minded... -- My folks came here in 1765 & was given marijuanna seeds to grow hemp.
. There is definately a dark side of our history for 200 years we aren't tought about.

[tuckerndfw]

Please don't tell me this is refering to the Holocaust? If so you have lost any and all credibility.

Posted by fillyfan3 at 02:18 PM : Jun 12, 2007

It is a historical fact that Zionists actively collaborated with the German Nazis.

Zionists did not care how many Jews were slaughtered by the German Nazis. The more, the better for their cause. David Ben-Gurion and his thugs weren't in Europe, so what did they care?

David Gruen (Ben-Gurion) was a Polish atheist and "nazi" who was expelled from Palestine in 1915 for his "nazi" activities.

Zionist collaboration with German Nazis:

"Zionism was supported by the German SS and Gestapo.[3] [4] [5] [6] Hitler himself personally supported Zionism.[7] [8] During the 1930%u2019s, in cooperation with the German authorities, Zionist groups organized a network of some 40 camps throughout Germany where prospective settlers were trained for their new lives in Palestine."

Source: http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/antisemitism/nazisupport.cfm

----------------------

Ben-Gurion's "nazi" activities:

"In 1915 Ben-Gurion, expelled from Palestine for his nationalist and socialist activities, . . . "

Source: http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/bengurion2.html

("Nazi" is a contraction of "nationalist socialist")


David Ben-Gurion was as much a Nazi as he was a Zionist, but there is little difference between the two.

[rhs648]

To compare middle east terrorists with participants in the Revolutionary Wat or the Civil War defies reality. Unlike the Muslims who hide behind civilians, blow-up their own people, and murder their own people, the Anericans fought against armies. Although there may have been some exceptions by some over zealous people, it was not acceptable for our forefathers to butcher, maim, torture, or murder men, women, and children who were not actively engaged in the conflicts. There is a difference between fighting armies and the barbarians in the middle east who see everyone as fair game.

[j-whitman]

rhs648,, During the time of King David & before, Palestinians where a mixture of Mediterainian people including Syrians & Cannanites amongst others --
. The Jewish tribes where mostly highway robbbers & mercinaries, some where farmers & sheppards on what ever land they could claim... Prior to David thier is little archeological evidence of just who they where.

[j-whitman]

Isreal's Zionism it's offical & part of thier currtent government structure, Isreals education department teaches it to thier children is also a major source of the problems -- Highly anti-semetic & dangerous.

[rhs648]

The Zionist state has succeeded in creating such sub-humans who are putting their blood and souls at stake to retrieve their land...."

Posted by grazinggoat

And what were these people before Israel? Sheep Herders, nomads, farmers? The Palestinians never had much to begin with. They didn't need Israel to be poor, uneducated, and backwards. They succeeded on their own.