Ha’aretz has an analysis of the current “violence” between the palestinian factions, and calls it what it is: Civil war.
“Civil war” is an apt description for what is now taking place in the Gaza Strip.
For a number of days now, in the northern Gaza Strip but also in other places, battles have been waged between Hamas and Fatah civilians.
However, on Thursday a new record was broken in the Gaza Strip: Hamas gunmen surrounded the home of a senior Fatah man in the Jabalya refugee camp, and assaulted the home of Colonel Mohammed Gharib, leader of the Preventive Security in the northern Gaza Strip.
Using automatic weapons, missiles and grenade launchers, the Hamas attackers killed everyone in the house.
Hamas gunmen also raided the home of Sufian Abu Zeida, a senior Fatah official and former minister for prisoner affairs, but he and his family were not at home.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who returned to the Gaza Strip on Thursday following a pilgrimage to the holy sites in Saudi Arabia, can no longer claim that these are sporadic incidents between small groups of minor Hamas and Fatah figures.
This time, the attackers were members of Hamas’ Executive Force, which answers to Hamas Interior Minister Saeed Sayam.
The head of the Executive Force, Yusef al-Zahar, is the brother of Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar.
The attackers “killed everyone in the house.” You won’t read those facts in AP or Reuters. Here’s what the AP says:
Fatah members mourn 7 slain in attack
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians carried bodies draped in yellow flags through pouring rain Friday in a funeral procession for seven Fatah men killed in the bloodiest battle in weeks of factional fighting in the Gaza Strip.Dozens of Fatah gunmen marched in the procession, firing in the air and calling for vengeance against the rival Islamic militant Hamas group, which is locked in a power struggle with President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party over control of the Palestinian government.
The clash Thursday left a Fatah-allied security commander dead along with six of his bodyguards and one Hamas gunman, the same day an Israeli raid in the West Bank killed four Palestinians.
The violence led to an urgent meeting early Friday between Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and Abbas, at which the two agreed to pull back their forces.
Notice how, once again, they don’t use “killed” in the headline. Notice the words in bold that are used to describe the killing—“violence” and “clash.” But there’s no hesitation to use the word “killed” in reference to the IDF. Once again, the AP spins down any negative palestinian news, and spins up the anti-Israel angle.
Once again, this is part of the reason for the high level of anti-Israel feelings in the world. The news is utterly slanted against Israel, in spite of protestations that it is not.
Hmmm. I wonder if there were protesting mobs after Palestinians killed Palestinians like there are when Israelis kill Palestinians?
Odd?
Once again Arabs do what they and the world press falsely accuse Israel of doing, and the world press gives them a free pass.
I’m just surprised that there were even news reports to find about this. After all, Arabs killing Arabs is more along the lines of “dog bites man.” It just ain’t news.
On a side note, isn’t “Civil War” a bit of an oxymoron?
“I say, old fellow, I’m afraid I’ll have to shoot you, now.”
“Right on, have at it!”