most of these clashes started after his death.
go back check the chonology. Real clashes started 3 years after Arafat's death.
The chronology shows that they gradualy came to fight each others after Arafat's death, with the culminating spot when Hamas refused to share power with Fatah a normal democracy would.
When the Abbas-Dahlan clique, with American funding, weapons and training, was trying to usurp all the power.
Again look at the chronology: Funds specificaly directed to Fatah came long after intestine clashes started. Abbas never tried to usurp the power but was the only one the West would talk with and unlike Hamas, not on a terrorist black list.
When Arafat was still alive the West would talk directly to him and Hamas respected his opinion (to some extents).
Abbas's mercenaries paid and trained by Americans, the biggest enemies of Palestine, to shoot Palestinians who resist occupation. U can't fall any lower than that.
IMHO, it's not a fall, it's a rise and you can't rise higher than that. Abbas's supporters should be
very proud of having called the attention of the americans and succeeded of finaly have the americans (and the europeans) give money to the Palestinians.
But that's a personal opinion of course. An anti-american or a radical islamist would the same view as yours.
You have always complained that the US is giving billions in aid to Israel. Now that Palestinians receive aid, you still complain. You don't know what you want.
Hamas is not resisting occupation and Americans are not the biggest ennemies of Palestinians.
I explain:
Hamas is agressing Israel, not for the purpose of stoping Israeli
occupation because it has exactely the opposite effect (and they know it). I don't know what they are trying to do, but it's certainly not helping the Palestinian cause.
Then, may I recal you that the Fatah is also an anti-Israeli group, struggling for the creation and recognition of a Palestinian State, in other word for the termination of Israeli
occupation and influence over Palestinian areas. Since Hamas is not doing that, Fatah is the only organisation working against Israeli military and official
occupation.
It's the truth: Palestinians have held fair and independant elections
and what is the relations between this thesis and the statement there is no Israeli occupation? Israelis loosened the check points control to allow Palestinians to vote. That in now way implies that the checkpoints disappeared. Most of Palestine is under direct military control of Israel, the rest is under Israeli siege. Iraqis had elections, - does that imply there was no American military presence in Iraq? Freddie, stop saying bizarre things. At least make them funny.
Israel's military presence is limited to check points basicaly there to protect jewish colons and watch jew-only roads to avoid clashes between the two communities. Call it an
occupation if you want but there are also some facts which are showing a broad Palestinian independance and self determination.
Palestinians organise their political life and governements as they see fit (even if it doesn't fit for Israel), the population elect their leaders they deem apropriate, pay taxes to the Palestinian Authority (not to Israel), have their own police and don't see any Israeli military in their streets. In other words Israel has no administrative authority over Palestine.
If Israel has some police and military presence there it's only because there is no unified Palestinian forces and no responsible body to cooperate with, save the too weak Fatah militias.
And also because Egypt and Jordan never wanted to anex Gaza and the West Bank.
Palestine is not under siege neither. Only Gaza has been under blockade recently and an easing of this siege is bound to come rapidly. It's a temporary situation directly linked to Hamas activities. The rest of Palestine is fine. 20,000 palestinians still work in Israel proper and even an additional 3,000 found a job in the kibbutz.
Edited off-line with Metapad for easier large text viewing
