Picture above: A Palestinian militant from Hamas holds a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, as he stands on a desk inside the Preventive Security headquarters after it was captured from Fatah loyalist security forces in Gaza. Courtesy AP.
GAZA (Reuters) - Islamist Hamas fighters hunted down key loyalists of the Western-backed Palestinian president in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after seizing most of the final strongholds of his secular Fatah movement in the enclave.
After six days of fighting that have killed over 100 people and ripped apart Palestinians' hopes for a state, President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government and declared a state of emergency. He held out the prospect of early elections but it was gun law not the constitution that held sway in Gaza.
Hamas militants "executed" a top Fatah "collaborator" and paraded his body through the streets and leaders issued a death list of other Fatah supporters. They dismissed the decrees issued in the Fatah-controlled West Bank and said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas remained in charge in their enclave.
Jubilant young Hamas gunmen hoisted green Islamist flags over captured Fatah buildings and pounded the remaining Fatah bastion, Abbas's own Gaza compound, with heavy weaponry.
Generally speaking, I am not a big supporter of Israel. Their recent military actions are as draconian and clueless as the U.S. That said, when I see these animals running around dragging dead bodies behind them, that concrete wall Israel's working on is looking better and better all the time.
I am sure gaining more insight into complex historical web of this would help (blah blah blah) but watching this unfold along side the Sunni/Shi'ites/Kurd three-way-gang-shoot in Iraq, it seems like Middle East violence is more of a way of life, with teenage men full of rage running around saying "God is Great. Gimmie someone to shoot at. God is Great." Maybe thugs like Arafat or Saddam are the only power they really respect. There is nothing worse than being both radicalized AND stupid.
Fatah totally wasted their opportunity in power, but if Hamas take over, I'm sure Israeli tanks will be heading back in before long, creating more bloodshed. The cycle of wasted chances continue.
Daily Show makes funny:
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