Elder of Ziyon was likely one of the first bloggers to note Friday’s bombing in Gaza, which brought the death toll of Palestinians killed by Palestinians this year up to 122.
Israel Matzav wondered if there’s a harbinger of civil war in Gaza. LGF makes a similar observation. Meryl noticed a double standard.
But the NYT headline had me wondering.
Did the blasts stoke tensions, or reveal them?
Hamas, the Islamic militant organization, blamed the mainstream Fatah for the deadly blast that followed two smaller explosions in Gaza on Friday, issuing a statement accusing the Fatah leadership in the West Bank, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, of concealing “a conspiracy to kill and assassinate and terrorize” Hamas security forces.
In other words, Fatah’s terrorists and assassins are being accused of targeting Hamas’s terrorists and assassins. To me this looks less like a crisis than a win-win situation.
I find it interesting in that the Times’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief was in Gaza last week reporting on a museum, and apparently was unaware of any simmering tensions between Fatah and Hamas. It’s possible that he wasn’t looking for a story on those tensions. Or it’s possible that the tensions weren’t there.
Other than the arrests and threats against Fatah there doesn’t appear to be much movement on this since Friday. For now, I’ll assume that it was an isolated incident and not the start of a bigger conflict between Fatah and Hamas.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
You are too modest. After all, it was you who brought the bombing to my attention.
I wish them both the best of luck.
chsw