Fatah Security Strongman Dahlan: West Bank In Danger Of Being Overrun By Hamas

By
Omri Ceren
– June 19, 2007Posted in: Palestinians

We’ve been joking that it’s a good thing that the US and EU are rushing to give weapons to Fatah – that way, when Hamas overruns the West Bank in seven or eight years, they’ll have a way to replenish their supplies before turning their guns back on Israelis. Looks like that time-line may be overly optimistic:

Fatah strongman Mohammad Dahlan on Tuesday warned that the West Bank was in danger of being overrun by Hamas, as his party decided to severe all ties with the Islamic group, a member of the group’s central committee said. In an interview with Reuters, Dahlan lashed out at Israel and the U.S. Earlier in the day, Dahlan branded Hamas’ seizure of the Gaza Strip last week an “occupation.” “If serious reforms are not undertaken in the security forces it would be easy for Hamas to take over the West Bank,” he said.

We’d like to think that most people, when confronted with a problem, consider the following proposition: “if doing X led to humiliating disaster last time, maybe we shouldn’t do X this time”. But not the United States. They’re ready to do the exact same thing – right down to having the exact same people engage try the exact same strategies – all over again. Because just statistically it has to work one of these times, right?

References:
* Dahlan warns West Bank at risk of being overrun by Hamas [Ha'aretz]
* US To Bring Abject Failure Of Security Assistance To West Bank, Renew Pressure On Israel. What Could Go Wrong? [MR]

Previously:
* Hamas Publicly Executing Little Girls, Teen Girls, and Grandmothers
* US To Lift Embargo, Pour Money and Weapons Into West Bank
* New Way Fatah Weapons Get To Hamas: They Hijack the Damn Trucks

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