A Fatah Hissy Fit

Hamas takes control of the Palestinian 'legislature' and Fatah storms out because they're no longer in charge.

After the walkout, lawmakers from Hamas, the radical Islamic faction that now controls parliament, voted overwhelmingly to nullify all actions taken last month in the final session of the outgoing legislature, which gave expanded powers to the Palestinian Authority's president, Mahmoud Abbas.

"We have tried through dialogue and contacts with Hamas to resolve this issue, but they are insisting on domination," said Azzam al-Ahmed, the head of the Fatah bloc in parliament.

Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, said that "every time we present an important point, Azzam al-Ahmed stands up and tries to disrupt our work."

Somehow, when I read this last sentence, it sounds like a line from Pinky and the Brain. We're not talking about two established political parties vying for political power, but two unrepentant terrorist groups that are trying to dominate a crooked and debased entity known as the Palestinian Authority for their own goals. The PLO determined that self enrichment was more important than destroying Israel while Hamas has made destroying Israel job number one.

Israel is still trying to work out whether self preservation is job number one. There's quite a bit of concern over the disengagement process and unilateral withdrawals from Gaza and potentially from much of the West Bank.