The Coup Against Hamas

By Eric Margolis

"......Having gotten rid of Fatah founder Yasser Arafat, who refused to condone US-Israeli plans to parcel up his nation, Washington installed Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian leader. Arafat’s death still remains highly suspicious and should, like the murder of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, be formally investigated by the United Nations.

The compliant Abbas is lauded in the west as a “moderate” – a code word for Arab leaders who faithfully follow American policies. Those who do not are branded “supporters of terrorism” and “leaders of rogue states.”.....

Washington quickly sent $80 million of US arms to Dahlan’s Fatah fighters, who were trained and organized by CIA specialists. Mirroring events in Algeria, the Bush administration and Israel set about planning a coup against the democratically-elected Hamas-led government. Seeing an attack imminent, Hamas struck first, running the US proxy Fatah forces out of Gaza.

The “moderate” Palestinians Washington has put into power, backed by tens of millions in cash, lack political legitimacy or much popular support. Abbas’ Fatah, like most other Arab regimes, has degenerated into a party devoted to self-enrichment that ignores the plight of ordinary people......

West Bank Jewish settlers grew from 111,000 in 1993 to nearly 500,000 today – in spite of Israel’s agreement at Oslo to stop settlements. Israeli human rights groups estimate 40% of the West Bank has been taken over by Israeli settlements, military bases, the ugly new Berlin-style “security” wall, and Jewish-only road networks that chop up the territory into tiny, isolated, South African-style Bantustans......

Building up Fatah to fight Hamas, splitting Palestinians, and getting them to accept Israeli land claims will only bring more West Bank violence. In fact, it seems likely that as Israeli colonization and assassinations continue, more and more West Bank Palestinians will turn to Hamas and against Fatah, repeating what happened in Gaza......

America can always buy local yes-men, but it can’t buy popular support, respect, or peace in the Arab World. But the harsh lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Somalia seem to have made no impression on the neoconservatives and born-again Christian extremists who are driving the Bush administration’s hugely destructive Mideast policy.......

Finally, we are still hearing rumor in the bazaar that President Bush may name Tony Blair, who is making his long goodbye as Britain’s prime minister, as a sort of Peace Czar to deal with the Palestinians. Just when White House policies couldn’t get any more bizarre or counter-productive, along comes this daft notion....."