tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411787833516051804.post3371792359527772170..comments2024-03-18T05:41:57.698-04:00Comments on Underreported: You did it! No, You did it!Yasser M. El-Shimyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959131181288171918noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411787833516051804.post-16693002920907944782009-07-07T22:53:07.439-04:002009-07-07T22:53:07.439-04:00Thanks, Grant, for your kind words.
Matt, what an...Thanks, Grant, for your kind words.<br /><br />Matt, what an insightful comment. It is a sobering analysis of the internal political situation in the Palestinian Territories. I would disagree on one point, however. I believe the "collapse of Fatah" is not imminent, nor even remotely so. As deeply unpopular as Fatah is becoming, there are far too many people and groups with vested interested in Fatah's survival. I imagine all civil servants on Fatah's payroll, for example, are not going to abandon their patron overnight. Nor will the US and the EU allow Hamas to dominate Palestinian political life. They will continue to prop up the Abbass presidency until the bitter end. I hope they do realize no single party or individual can rule the Palestinians. A Hamas-Fatah coalition of sort is inexorable.Yasser M. El-Shimyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02959131181288171918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411787833516051804.post-83080074286989602682009-07-07T12:16:00.241-04:002009-07-07T12:16:00.241-04:00great blog yasser. thanks for setting this up.great blog yasser. thanks for setting this up.grant marlierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12347824825158311736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411787833516051804.post-75954479566791035222009-07-06T16:13:22.706-04:002009-07-06T16:13:22.706-04:00Peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, and a...Peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, and any two-state solution, cannot be reached until the Palestinians work out an internal agreement.<br /><br />The Israelis will never work with Hamas so long as they continue to espouse and educate violence towards Israel. Nor will Israel negotiate with a Fatah too weak and corrupt to determine lasting and concrete solutions. In addition, while the status quo allows Hamas to play the victim, it also makes it easier for Israel to claim that they can't negotiate peace because there is no legitimate power with which to solve the problems Israel wants addressed.<br /><br />As the unfortunate situation stands, there is no immediate solution to the rift between the Palestinian factions. The utter collapse of Fatah seems much more likely than any accessions by Hamas and that would likely spell the end to peace talks with Israel for quite some time.Mattnoreply@blogger.com