Six Palestinians were killed on Sunday in a shoot-out between P.A. security and Hamas fighters hiding out in the Arab town Qalqilya, adjoining Israel but in the West Bank. The fighting is described by Avi Issacharoff in today's Ha'aretz. I saw a dispatch earlier in the day which showed a web video of the besieged house...after the siege. If the Israelis had left such evidence in Gaza they would have been hauled before the United Nations Human Rights Council and charged with war crimes.
Anyway, the dead were three Fatah men from the P.A. and two Hamas officers. One non-combatant, apparently a Hamas enthusiast and the owner of the house, was also killed. The P.A. said that at least 30 grenades were thrown at its soldiers. The visuals showed that Fatah had literally riddled the walls with bullets, really riddled, I say.
I guess we're supposed to root for the Authority in this fight. Its men are, after all, being trained by General Mark Dayton, who is a very impressive soldier and whom I interviewed maybe a half year ago, no, I think a bit more. Yes, the U.S. is for Fatah in this struggle and so is Israel. But, as I showed in my last spine, Fatah is not exactly a peacemaker either.
As it happens, the internal war between and among the Palestinian gangs reflects the internal reality of the Arabs of Palestine. It if didn't it might be a lot to easier for Israel to come to accord with its neighbors who are fighting to show which side hates the Jews more.