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by Khaled Abu Toameh
• June 26, 2014 at 5:00 am
The
Fatah-Hamas reconciliation accord has had no moderating effect on the
Islamist movement. On the contrary, Hamas seems headed toward more
extremism, and its recent actions and statements show it is preparing for
war against Israel, despite Abbas's assurances that the new government
would reject violence.
Former
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced this week that, in the West
Bank, the intifada against Israel has already begun.
As in
previous years, summer camps are being used to give Palestinian
schoolchildren training in guerrilla warfare.
Abbas has
thus far failed to condemn his Hamas partners for threatening to fire
rockets at Israel. Like many in the international community, Abbas is
continuing to bury his head in the sand by refusing to see what his Hamas
partners are up to.
Masked
Hamas gunmen during military drills this month in Gaza.
As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continues to talk
about his commitment to the peace process and security coordination with
Israel, his new partners in the "national consensus
government," Hamas, seem to be preparing for war against the
"Zionist enemy."
For the first time, Hamas has chosen not to prevent other
Palestinian groups from launching rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Until recently, Hamas had moved to stop Islamic Jihad and other terror
groups from launching rockets at Israel, to avoid an Israeli reprisal.
Hamas did so not because it believes in the peace process with
Israel or is opposed to harming innocent civilians. The only reason why
Hamas made an effort to stop the rocket attacks was its desire to remain
in power and keep its leaders alive.
But after it signed the reconciliation agreement with Fatah,
resulting in the formation of the "national consensus
government", Hamas's strategy appears to have changed.
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