The Gaza Civil War Watch escalates.
Palestinian gunmen forced a Hamas commander to his knees and fatally shot him early Wednesday outside of the courthouse where he worked as an Islamic judge, escalating factional tensions in the Gaza Strip.
The shooting came two days after the killing of the three young children of a Fatah-allied Palestinian intelligence officer, which sparked fresh conflict between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions. The violence has reduced chances for a unity government and pushed the two sides closer to civil war.
Palestinian security officials said the slain man was Bassam al-Fara, 30, a jurist at the Islamic court and a Hamas commander who belongs to the largest clan in the southern town of Khan Younis.
I wish it would happen, but I’m sure it won’t. They keep pulling back from the brink. Although, the guy was from the largest clan in Khan Younis, and palestinian society is very much clan-based. There will probably be revenge killings.
If it did happen, Fatah would win. They vastly outnumber Hamas.
You gotta love the Reuters headline, though. “Gunmen Kill Hamas Judge.” Yeah, those mysterious “gunmen.” If it had been the IDF, it would have been, “Israel Kills Hamas Judge.” But no, there’s no anti-Israel media bias.
Update: And the AP has changed its headline as well. It now reads “Gunmen Kill Hamas-Linked Judge in Gaza.” You know, those gunmen who have no affiliation, unlike, say, IDF soldiers.
it’ll happen sooner or later because if there’s anything the peace process showed, it’s that they can’t compromise
the only thing keeping them from an all out fight is israel and america
fatah is leveraging the threat of hamas to get american support, playing bad cop, good cop
problem is they can’t control their rank file and hamas, like most fanatical killers, have little patience for games
Well, my view on a Fatah-Hamaz civil war is similar to my view on the Iran-Iraq war or the 2000 World Series: I’m rooting against both sides.