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Palestinian Civil War Casts Shadow
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December 25 • 2008
iN
resident-elect Barack Obama's
refrain of "change" has become
a source of inspiration to
many American Jews who wish to see
Palestinian-Israeli peace talks assume
greater importance as compared to the
last eight years under President Bush.
They have been further buoyed by the
fact that Dennis Ross, the former Clinton
administration Middle East negotia-
tor and now Obama adviser, recently
launched a media offensive to lay the
groundwork for regional diplomacy.
While peace is in everyone's interest,
American Jewry should be warned that
it will be more difficult to achieve than
ever. As if things weren't complicated
enough, new challenges stem from
the lack of a Palestinian interlocu-
tor. Indeed, Hamas and Fatah — the
two largest Palestinian factions in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip — are now
engaged in a bitter civil war. As long as
Hamas and Fatah remain two non-gov-
ernments ruling two non-states, Middle
East diplomacy simply cannot succeed.
As I note in my new book, Hamas vs.
Fatah: The Struggle For Palestine, the
Hamas-Fatah conflict dates back to the
outbreak of the first intifada of 1987.
Amid the violence Hamas, an offshoot
of the Muslim Brotherhood, challenged
Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction with corn-
peting leaflets and guidance on the
streets of the West Bank and Gaza.
By 1993, the political rivalry gave
way to sharp disagreements and occa-
sional violence over Fatah's engagement
in peace talks with Israel. During the
subsequent Oslo years, prompted and
armed by Washington and Jerusalem,
Fatah cracked down on the suicide-
bombing Hamas organization. Quietly, a
Palestinian civil war was brewing.
After the peace process collapsed in
2000, Arafat launched the ill-fated sec-
ond intifada in which both Hamas and
Fatah temporarily joined forc-
cile the conflict, including
es against Israel. While Israel
Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia
responded with force against
and even Mauritania.
both factions, its strikes
When President-elect
against Arafat's power struc-
Obama moves into the
ture — the Fatah-controlled
White House in January
Palestinian Authority — led
and sets out to rekindle
to the effective dissolution of
Palestinian-Israeli peace, he
the quasi-government created
will be faced with a vexing
by the Oslo process. The ter-
problem: Which Palestinian
Jonathan
ritories became lawless. Clans,
faction/non-state represents
Schanzer
families and tribes assumed
the Palestinians? With whom
the role of government.
Special
should Washington negoti-
When Arafat died in
Commentary
ate?
November 2004, Mahmoud
If it is Abbas' Fatah West
Abbas succeeded him. While Abbas had
Bank faction, Obama will be working
long been Arafat's deputy, he lacked
with an unelected government while
Arafat's charisma. He, too, failed to gain
effectively ignoring the Hamas regime
control of the territories.
in Gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million
Chaos and confusion worsened
Palestinians reside. If the president
after the Palestinians held elections
negotiates with Hamas, he would be
in January 2006. The Palestinians
negotiating with terrorists — some-
overwhelmingly supported Hamas,
thing that would fly in the face of U.S.
respected for its steadfast resistance to
policy dating back to the Nixon admin-
Israel and appreciated by the majority
istration.
of Palestinians for the suicide bomb-
It is also worthy to note that amid
ings against Israeli civilians. The out-
their clashing, Hamas and Fatah
come surprised decision-makers in
have failed to articulate a vision for
Washington and Jerusalem, who in turn the state they insist they deserve. As
backed Fatah's efforts to block Hamas
one Al-Jazeera analyst noted, "The
from assuming control of the territories. rivalry between Fatah and Hamas had
After more than a year of sporadic
eclipsed demands for putting forward a
firefights and spiteful public exchanges,
Palestinian negotiating strategy."
Hamas launched a military offensive in
Until now, it is unclear whether
June 2007 that crushed Fatah's political
Obama and his advisers will address
and military positions throughout the
the internecine Palestinian conflict as
Gaza Strip. Human rights groups report- a key component in their Middle East
ed that Palestinians were pushing rival
foreign policy. If they fail to confront
faction members off tall buildings to
this critical issue, we risk engaging in
their death, while"others were shot point yet another failed round of diplomacy.
blank in the limbs to ensure permanent And as we have seen in the past, failure
damage. Members of both factions were at the negotiating table can often lead to
kidnapped off the streets and held with- renewed conflict. ❑
out cause.
Since then, two illegitimate govern-
Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism
ments have separately ruled the West
analyst for the U.S. Treasury Department,
Bank and Gaza Strip. The civil war has
is director of policy for the Jewish Policy
continued unabated, despite the best
Center and author of "Hamas vs. Fatah: The
efforts of Arab states seeking to recon-
Struggle for Palestine" (Paigrave Macmillan).
The Bush I Know from page B1
I will grant his critics their right to
dislike him. After all, he isn't with them
on federal support for embryonic stern
cell research, the Iraq war, environ-
mental regulations, abortion rights, gay
marriage and civil liberties for terror
suspects, to name a few.
But most of all, he was a Southern
evangelical Republican. Given that, I
suspect there was nothing he could have
done to win over the Jews.
To his critics, his leadership on Israel
and anti-Semitism was quaint and one-
dimensional. They took it for granted.
But they should not be so casual with a
friend. President Bush was more Zionist
than many Israelis, more mindful of
Jewish history than many Jews. He was
not wrong to think that way, and we
American Jews can be thankful at least
for that. ❑
Noam Neusner, a communications consul-
tant, was a speechwriter and Jewish liaison
for President Bush from 2002-2005). He
once was an editorial intern at the Detroit
Jewish News.