Posted on 01/29/2004 11:43:55 PM PST by JohnHuang2
JERUSALEM ? Hamas has established a military force in a drive to take over the West Bank and Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.
A new report asserts Hamas, with quiet Egyptian support, is bracing to inherit control of Palestinian society from the PA, dominated by the ruling Fatah movement.
The report traced the decline of the Fatah movement led by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, and the rise of Hamas influence.
"Hamas has established its own army in the Gaza Strip as a source of power and strength in opposition to the Palestinian Authority, in the understanding that the force that controls the strip is the one that will actually succeed the Palestinian Authority," stated the report by the Jerusalem-based Institute for Contemporary Affairs.
"Already, Hamas is copying the relationship of Hezbollah to the Lebanese government as it fashions its approach to the Palestinian Authority."
The report, authored by researcher Jonathan Halevi, did not detail Hamas's military. But Israeli security sources said Hamas's Izzedin Kassam has thousands of operatives and supporters and includes a military industry that produces mortars, short-range missiles and anti-tank rockets.
"There is growing evidence Fatah, the Palestinian faction that today dominates the PLO, may not remain the power center of Palestinian politics in the post-Arafat era," the report said. "Hamas is preparing itself to inherit the Palestinian Authority. Any scenarios for the future that do not take into account the possibility of a Hamas takeover of the Palestinian political system are seriously deficient."
The report, "Is Hamas Preparing to Inherit the Palestinian Authority?" said Hamas has been emboldened by its increasing status in Palestinian society and the Arab world. In December 2003, Hamas relayed an unprecedented demand to be a partner in all Palestinian decisions, the report said.
Hamas also won recognition from Egypt and other Arab states during an Egyptian-sponsored session in Cairo in December. Hamas also insisted Western governments remove the Islamic movement from the list of terrorist organizations maintained by the European Union and United States. Other demands included guarantees Hamas operatives could travel freely around the world and that Hamas be recognized as the main power center in the Palestinian arena.
The report said the Fatah-dominated PLO, the source of authority for the PA, confronts the gravest challenge in 20 years. Halevi attributed this to an increase in Hamas's power at the expense of Fatah.
"Many regard the Palestinian Authority as nothing more than an employment bureau that has gradually lost its authority and legitimacy in the eyes of the Palestinian public," the report said. "The Palestinian security frameworks are weak and have difficulty enforcing their authority over armed militias who rule by force of arms over various localities in the Palestinian Authority ? Jenin, Nablus, Rafiah, some of the refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza and elsewhere."
Hamas first began to enjoy Egyptian support in 2002, the report said. In an internal Hamas memorandum obtained by Israel, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal said senior Egyptian officials, sensing the decline of the PA, provided an elaborate reception to the Islamic movement.
Hamas has also increased its stature within Palestinian society by stressing its links to the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood in a move meant to increase recognition throughout the Arab world. The group has also continued social welfare programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to compete with the PA.
"Hamas was the first to organize an assistance package and donations to families whose houses were damaged by the IDF [Israeli military] in Rafiah," the report said. "Hamas went even further on Christmas Eve 2003 when movement activists dressed up as Santa Claus distributed presents to Christian children in Bethlehem."
Our good friends the Egyptians...another hole we pump millions of tax payer dollars into...those great peacefull islamic moderates are helping HAMAS?.... Of course they only mean peace towards Israel after their takeover....
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