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Originally Posted by Mike F
Yes, it has very much increased, and support for Fatah's peace seeking stance has vanished, leading that party to take a more militant stance in order to stay politically relevant.
From the NY Times:
Quote:
Just three months ago, Hamas, financially strapped and diplomatically isolated, agreed to a reconciliation deal with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and his secularist Fatah faction after a bitter, seven-year division, on minimal terms that analysts said reflected the Islamic group’s weakness.
Now Hamas — which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and is considered a terrorist organization by much of the West — is being hailed in the West Bank as the champion of armed resistance, while Mr. Abbas, who leads the alternative camp advocating a negotiated peace deal with Israel, is being excoriated for having failed to achieve a Palestinian state after 20 years of intermittent and fruitless Israeli-Palestinian talks
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So... 3 months ago, Hamas had no money and no friends and was being forced into a deal with their political enemies.
Then
somehow a war starts with the Jews and voila... they are the much loved champion of armed resistance and I would assume the money is just pouring in to support the cause.
Someone more cynical than I might think that this was the plan all along? Everyone knows that if your popularity is waning the one sure way to get a boost in support is to start a war.... Just ask George Bush.