Don’t make the same mistake twice

By Clay Varney

The Gaza Strip exploded in violence yesterday as armed factions of Hamas, a spear carrier for Islamofascism, took to the streets in a concerted effort to challenge Fatah. Formerly led by Yasser Arafat and a staunch foe of Israel, Fatah and its Presidential Guard have received active support from the United States and Israel in an effort to prevent a hostile takeover of the now all but defunct Palestinian Authority. The internecine fighting, which had been percolating at a slow boil in recent months, seems to have finally reached a tipping point, overwhelming a weak and obviously temporary ceasefire brokered by Egypt. Since the factional warfare reignited on Monday, a multitude of Palestinians have been killed, many in particularly gruesome manners such as the execution of wounded fighters in hospital beds, various kneecappings, and the tossing of a member of the Presidential Guard from the top of an eighteen story building.

The Palestinian terrorist organizations, Hamas foremost among them, have long sought to blame all of the Palestinians problems on Israel. However, such unfortunate excuses have no credibility in the current situation. As is characteristic of totalitarian movements, Islamofascists have long put the blame for their own problems on an outsider, depending on the situation, Israel, the United States, or more loosely, the West. Hamas has led this approach, justifying violence against innocents as a necessary first response to those it falsely accuses of injustice. Much like the precursor ideologies of Nazism and Communism, Islamofascism seeks power out of the barrel of a gun. This veneration of violence, first demonstrated to the world in the form of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians on city buses, then followed by indiscriminate rocket fire at Israeli population centers, has come full circle.

As has been long feared about organizations espousing the Islamofascist ideology, Hamas has used a faade of democracy as an avenue for the outright takeover of the Palestinian Authority. Instead of upholding the unity government through peaceful democratic measures such as negotiation and arbitration, Hamas has instead resorted to violence in a bid to oust Fatah from the Gaza Strip. As Islamofascism is a tool for the seizure of political power, it comes as no surprise that an organization like Hamas would target fellow Muslims opposed to the takeover of Gaza by means of a military coup. A Palestinian, in reference to Fatah, said, They are not Palestinians, they are lost people. Hamas has exchanged terrorism against Israelis with terrorism against Palestinians.

Clearly, this violence is not something for which Hamas can blame Israel, as has long been its supposed prerogative. Having withdrawn from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel washed its hands of the territory. Though the Palestinians now had their chance to build a decent civil society without so-called Israeli interference, the outcome has been a disaster. Islamism has infiltrated the Gaza Strip to an alarming degree. In what is essentially a Mad Max environment, Islamofascist organizations potentially more dangerous than Hamas have emerged. These include the Army of Islam, responsible for the kidnapping of the BBC’s Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston and IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit, and al Qaeda itself, which has established a presence in the territory. In a campaign reminiscent of the Taliban, these shadowy organizations are now making their presence known through terrorist attacks on video stores, Internet cafes, and other establishments deemed blasphemous. In a particularly egregious offense, one person was killed in a grenade attack on a United Nations-run school, which was targeted for the crime of holding a mixed gender sporting event.

The security implications of an outright Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip cannot be overstated. With Gaza as a launching pad, Hamas and like-minded organizations would have an ideally located position in which to destabilize neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Further, Gaza would provide al Qaeda with the opportunity to directly strike Israel, a long sought goal. With these consequences in mind, it becomes obvious that the United States and its foremost ally in the region, Israel, cannot allow Hamas to succeed in the consolidation of power in Gaza.

Israel, under Ariel Sharon, decided that the continued protection of settlers in Gaza was not worth the cost. Faced with the intra-Palestinian violence on display this week, and its potential spillover effects to other areas of the Middle East, the current Israeli leadership is likely wishing that decision had never been made. As such, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would be well-served by rethinking any prospects of a withdrawal from the West Bank. In a potential repeat of the rocket attacks on Sderot, Israeli towns near the West Bank would be highly vulnerable to increased Qassam rocket fire. Currently, Fatah is still predominant in the West Bank, but a removal of the IDF would allow for Hamas to operate in an open manner. With its obvious willingness to resort to violence, Hamas could likely gain significant traction in its struggle against Fatah, adding yet another vulnerability to Israels national security.

Concurrently, with few good options available for a resolution of the situation in Gaza, American policymakers should be loath to encourage a repeat in the West Bank out of a misguided and what would be ultimately foolish attempt to gain brownie points internationally. Unfortunately, Sharons disengagement did not go according to plan, and it is likely that any similar withdrawal from the West Bank would result in the same effect. The implications for the interests of the United States in the region are too grave, as Israel, a vital ally, would face an antagonistic force on yet another front, and the West Bank would provide another staging ground for Islamofascist terrorism, possibly into Jordan, or even, the United States itself.

Clay Varney is an intern at the Center for Security Policy and a Master’s candidate in International Security at the University of Denver.