You have to appreciate the irony of this, especially since I’ve been saying all along about them much of what the Pals are now saying about each other:

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday rejected a request by the head of the Arab League to meet with supreme Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, an Abbas aide said.

Abbas received a call from Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who offered to arrange such a meeting, said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Abbas vehemently turned down the offer, the aide said.

Earlier Saturday, Abbas adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo told a news conference that the president will not engage in a dialogue with killers, referring to Hamas.

It was just peachy meeting with Hamas when they were only the killers of Jews. But now that they are the killers of Palestinians, well, that’s a different story.

And the truths just keep on coming. Hamas has suddenly discovered the means to release BBC reporter Alan Johnston, whom they’ve been holding in the first place.

The captors of kidnapped journalist Alan Johnston have promised to release the British Broadcasting Corp. correspondent within 24 hours, a source close to the negotiations said Friday.

Hamas’ armed wing issued a statement Friday, saying it was in an advanced stage of negotiations and “begun practical steps to secure [Johnston's] release.”

In Damascus, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal said he was in contact with Hamas operatives in Gaza to secure the release of Johnston.

[...] Johnston, 45, was snatched in Gaza three months ago by a group believed to have links to Hamas, and a message purporting to be from his captors has demanded the release of Islamic prisoners, including a cleric being held in Britain.

Translation: “Holy crap, our PR is bad after murdering all those Fatah guys and civilians. Let’s throw the infidels a bone to shut them up.”

Meantime, the West Bank Palestinians apparently look down their noses on the Gazan Palestinians. Wow. Even the Pals don’t like the Pals.

Ramallah residents Thursday dismissed the possibility of Hamas taking over the West Bank. In Gaza, “there are tribes and clans like in the Jahiliyyah [pre-Islam] era,” said one, Qassem. “Here, in the West Bank, we’re more civilized, educated. It’s a different nation, not like in Gaza.”

And here is a comment on the Hamas military methods (along with that infamous mercy, justice, and tolerance thrown in):

“They’re using the same methods as the Israelis, and even worse,” a senior Palestinian source said. “They declare an area a closed military zone and shoot anyone who goes out into the street. Hamasniks strip Fatah men they capture, humiliate and beat them. They go from door to door with lists to hunt down Fatah people and execute them.”

Fatah’s military defeat was mainly caused by the split in the organization, he said: “All the forces are identified with Fatah, but each force fought independently against Hamas, which was united and better trained.”

Fatah officials in the West Bank spoke with contempt about Hamas in Gaza. “Let’s see how they manage now, after they’ve won, running things like water and power from Israel,” one official said. “How will they cooperate with Israel over the border crossings?”

Yes, the world is going to wait for Gaza to sink into the mire. But here’s the thing: Hamas has already proven itself adept at smuggling cash, weapons, and munitions into Gaza. Now that they control the border crossings previously run by the corrupt Fatah thugs, will it be an open faucet? Will Egypt continue to turn a blind eye to the arming of Hamas?

Iran shows no sign of turning off the money spigot any time soon. I’m not going to jump on the “Wait for Hamas to crash and burn” bandwagon. I think that they have just managed to subjugate an entire people. They’re rounding up weapons from anyone outside Hamas. The first step in a dicatatorship: Remove the opposition party. Second step: Disarm the populace. Third step: Initiate your new laws, enforced by your thugs, who are now the only ones in your state allowed to bear arms. Hamas has initiated or completed all of these steps.

Watch for the Islamic theocracy to arise from the ashes of Gaza. The people are used to being subjugated by their leaders. They will bow just as easily under the Hamas yoke, particularly after we see a few public executions and beatings for “un-Islamic” activity.

This is a bad, bad, bad thing for Israel, the region, and the world, as I’ve said several times already. The U.S. and EU are now going to pressure Israel into easing up on the West Bank to make Hamas look bad. Well, PIJ is still in the West Bank, and so is Al Aqsa, and so is Hamas, and the PFLP. They’re still trying to launch terror attacks. And they’re still shooting, stoning, and knifing any Israeli that happens to be in the path of a terrorist with a stone, a knife, or a gun.

The regional balance has been completely altered. Iran has its front in Gaza, ready to go at a moment’s notice, in concert with its front in Lebanon. And then there’s Syria, waiting to jump in as well.

Dangerous times.

So much for the “sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” Abu Ammar has been relegated to the status he so richly deserves: A dead man that his people no longer respect or care about.

A crowd on Saturday looted the home of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, destroying one of the strongest symbols of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, witnesses and Fatah officials said.

Fatah officials said the crowd took furniture, wall tiles and Arafat’s personal belongings.

And why should they respect him? Arafat is the reason the Palestinians live in misery. Arafat is the reason they never got their state. Decades of indoctrinating them in refusing to ever compromise, even on the non-negotiable “right of return” that Israel would and could never allow, is why Gaza is a craphole today, instead of part of a Palestinian state living side by side and in partnership with Israel.

There was a chance, years ago, for it to happen. But not while Arafat led the Palestinians, and murdered all of the truly moderate Palestinian leaders who were willing to compromise with Israel.

Now, we have Hamastan—a place with no industry, no income, and no way to move its people out of misery and poverty—which is exactly what Hamas wants. Keep the rabble poor and out of work, and you can justify anything—as long as you blame it on Israel instead of on the Palestinians who voted in a terrorist organization.

The Palestinian people are ultimately partners in the misery they brought on themselves. Not that that will stop the world from blaming Israel.