Stunning Admissions

Palestinians are beginning to admit that they don't deserve a state. They're saying this after the ongoing violence between Fatah and Hamas has turned Gaza into a no-go zone, torched universities, government buildings, hospitals, and schools. Of course, when Palestinians were busy attacking and killing Israelis, everything was okay, but now that the terrorist thugs were turning on each other, that doesn't cut it.

Many Hamas leaders in the West Bank, where Fatah remains the stronger party, are said to have gone underground for fear of being targeted by members of Fatah’s armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.

On Friday, the group issued a warning to all Hamas leaders in the West Bank to condemn the fighting in the Gaza Strip or face retaliatory measures.

On Saturday, a number of Hamas figures in the West Bank came under attack by Fatah gunmen. In Kalkilya, the gunmen opened fire at the home of the city’s Hamas mayor, Wajih Kawwas. No one was hurt. In Nablus, three Hamas members were kidnapped and the offices of the movement’s legislators were set on fire.

Fayez Abu Rawdah, a senior Hamas official in Ramallah, was kidnapped for four hours on Friday night. His Fatah captors released him after handing him a letter addressed to the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. The letter contained a threat to kill all Hamas leaders in the West Bank.

“Everyone here is disgusted by what’s happening in the Gaza Strip,” said Shireen Atiyeh, a 30-year-old mother of three working in one of the Palestinian Authority ministries. “We are telling the world that we don’t deserve a state because we are murdering each other and destroying our universities, colleges, mosques and hospitals. Today I’m ashamed to say that I’m a Palestinian.”

Ayman Abu Khalaf, a 40-year-old businessman, said he was seriously considering moving with his family to Jordan because of the growing state of anarchy and lawlessness in the PA territories.

“The situation is very dangerous and many people are afraid to leave their homes,” he said. “I’m very worried about the safety of my children. There are many armed gangs and everyone is afraid. If the situation does not improve, I will take my family and go to Jordan. This is not the Palestine we want to live in.”

Hafez Barghouti, editor of the PA-funded daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, said he was concerned that the fighting would tarnish the image of the Palestinians. “Tens of millions of people now look at us as worthless gangsters with no values,” he complained.

Palestinian fighting will only escalate. The fighting is due to a combination of religious, social, and political ideologies.

Shimon Peres, who has been among the Israeli doves, thinks that Israel should sit on the sidelines while the Palestinians fight among themselves. That's an amazing position for him to take. Has he had a moment of clarity about Palestinian intentions once they've figured out which group wants the right to continue the war against Israel's existence?

"We left (the Strip) in order not to reenter, and any interference in the conflict on the part of the State of Israel would only cause damage and won't have any benefit," Peres said, hinting to reports on a large-scale operation planned by Israel in the Strip.

He added that Israel must maintain a low profile in the conflict.

"I hope that a solution is found which will lead to a ceasefire between the factions, but no one but the Palestinians can do it for them."

If Peres really means this, that would extend to all aid to the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Nasrallah admits that Hizbullah is a proxy army for Iran. That's no surprise to anyone reading this page, but it is noteworthy nonetheless:

In an admission which underscores previous statements made by Hizbullah, leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that his organization suffered from an “intelligence failure” regarding the size and timing of an Israeli response in last summer’s war.

“Frankly, we were surprised by the size and strength of the response,” Nasrallah told Professor Sa’ad A-Din Avrahim, the director of an Egyptian think tank, in an interview which was published Saturday in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-aam. “I don’t hide the fact that we expected Israel at some point to attack...but the information we had did not suggest they would choose to attack when they did.” ...

Moving to the issue of Iran and Syria, Nasrallah emphasized the integral role which both states have played in strengthening and assisting the guerilla organization.

“Iran assists the organization with money, weapons, and training, motivated by a religious fraternity and ethnic solidarity,” Nasrallah said. “And the help is funneled through Syria, and everybody knows it.”

Yet, there are still people like the pseudorealists in the ISG group and leftists like John Kerry who think that the best course of action for the US is to negotiate with Iran and Syria, when both countries seek to impose their brand of Islam on the region.