Monday, February 4, 2008

Dimona signals Palestinian defiance


A Good Analysis
By Lamis Andoni, Al-Jazeera

"Moral judgments not withstanding, the suicide bombing in Dimona on Monday is another chink in the siege imposed on all Palestinians in the occupied territories and it represents a continuity of the Palestinian rebellion that breached the wall between Gaza and Egypt last week.

The fact that two fighters succeeded in reaching Dimona in the south of Israel after crossing over to Egypt last week and then returning to conduct the operation is a blow to Tel Aviv's claims that its siege of Hamas supporters is working.

The attacks were carried out by fighters - from Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - well outside the influence of Hamas, but who felt solidarity with the besieged group and the people of Gaza.....

Scenes broadcast around the world of a besieged Gaza, and more significantly, those of its residents breaching the wall between the strip and Egypt, stirred and inspired Palestinians across the political and geographic divide....

But what is most striking about the Dimona attack is that the Fatah-aligned Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are forcefully challenging Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his policy of accommoding Israeli and US interests....

The Dimona attack itself is an indication of growing disgruntlement within Fatah and the increasing view that continued Israeli-Palestinian talks are futile, if not a cover for Israeli acts against Palestinians.....

According to well-informed Fatah sources, the Brigades felt impotent and dispirited by the reluctance of the Palestinian Authority to take action or even at the very least to suspend talks with Israel over the unfolding strangulation of the Gaza Strip....

This has contributed to building resentment within Fatah. Supporters watched their political leaders smile alongside their Israelis counterparts in photo opportunities while the number of Palestinian casualties mounted.....

Hamas, meanwhile, has been asserting itself - even among its critics and opponents - as siding with the Gazan people, and taking part, if not outright leading the breach of the Rafah border last week.

This was an act that deeply touched the pride of the Palestinians.....

In addition to expressing Palestinian anger, Fatah has now partly reasserted its credentials as a resistance movement.

The attack itself could still be an isolated accident, but it is not isolated in its expression of a building Palestinian rebellion - reminiscent of the actions that led to the 1987 and 2000 uprisings......"

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