{"id":280,"date":"2007-04-25T11:13:28","date_gmt":"2007-04-25T16:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=280"},"modified":"2007-04-25T11:13:28","modified_gmt":"2007-04-25T16:13:28","slug":"a-proxy-war-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=280","title":{"rendered":"A Proxy War in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><meta http-equiv=\"Content-Language\" content=\"en-us\" \/> <meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=windows-1252\" \/><title>The Financial Times is reporting<\/title>The <em>Financial Times<\/em> is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ft.com\/cms\/s\/7256e6e8-f2c9-11db-a454-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=fc3334c0-2f7a-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html\"> reporting<\/a> that the &#8220;military wing&#8221; of Hamas has declared an end to a  five-month-old ceasefire with Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Be that as it may, however, the &#8220;news&#8221; of the day is best understood as the  collapse of the <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=244\"> Saudi-backed ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Battles within the Palestinian Authority look increasingly like proxy wars  between Vice President Cheney and Saudi King Abdullah.<\/p>\n<p>If King Abdullah&#8217;s &#8220;Mecca Agreement&#8221; aimed to pressure Fatah to end its  attacks on Hamas and develop new power-sharing mechanisms in cooperation with  the Hamas-led government, the White House has been working overtime to undermine  King Abdullah&#8217;s efforts.<\/p>\n<p>US efforts have centered on bolstering the power of Fatah&#8217;s Gaza strongman,  Muhammad Dahlan.\u00c2\u00a0 During the factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas in  late 2006 and early 2007, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jpost.com\/servlet\/Satellite?cid=1167467833403&#038;pagename=JPost\/JPArticle\/Printer\"> Hamas accused Dahlan<\/a> of conspiring to undermine the Hamas government.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Dahlan is leading a group of Fatah members who are trying to topple the  \tHamas government on orders from the Israelis and Americans,&#8221; said Hamas  \tspokesman Fawzi Barhoum. &#8220;The American-Zionist scheme is aimed at  \teliminating the infrastructure of the Palestinian resistance groups and  \tforcing the Palestinians to make political concessions.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If King Abdullah pulled the rug out from under Dahlan&#8217;s efforts, the US  wasted little time moving to bolster Fatah&#8217;s forces.\u00c2\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/articlePrint?articleId=USL203998920070321\"> According to Reuters<\/a>, that effort has been led by White House envoy  Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>With Iranian help, Hamas forces are expanding fast and getting more  \tsophisticated weapons and training than those under Palestinian President  \tMahmoud Abbas&#8217;s control, according to the U.S. security coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton said Hamas&#8217;s growing military  \tstrength, if left unchecked, would erode Abbas&#8217;s already limited ability to  \tenforce any ceasefire in the Gaza Strip&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Sources familiar with the Bush administration&#8217;s deliberations said a  \trevised spending plan would be submitted&#8230; [providing] aid to Abbas&#8217;s  \tpresidential guard&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>In his first act after swearing in the new government, Abbas appointed  \tHamas&#8217;s long-time foe, Mohammad Dahlan, as national security adviser,  \tangering the Islamist movement.<\/p>\n<p>[I]n fierce fighting before Abbas agreed to join the unity government,  \tHamas&#8217;s Executive Force and armed wing were beating their Fatah rivals,  \tDayton said, according to two sources familiar with his comments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>By the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alertnet.org\/thenews\/newsdesk\/L27229454.htm\">end  of March<\/a>, the Bush administration finalized the details of the US funding  plan.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The United States plans to provide $59 million to strengthen Palestinian  \tPresident Mahmoud Abbas&#8217;s presidential guard and support his new national  \tsecurity adviser, a long-time foe of Hamas&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the money for Abbas and security  \tadviser Mohammad Dahlan was meant to fuel divisions among Palestinians and  \tundercut the unity government formed by the ruling Hamas Islamists and  \tAbbas&#8217;s Fatah faction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The White House got its cash and Abbas took the bait.\u00c2\u00a0 On April 12, 2006 <a href=\"http:\/\/today.reuters.com\/misc\/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=worldNews&#038;storyID=2007-04-12T083716Z_01_L09235104_RTRUKOC_0_US-PALESTINIANS-FORCES.xml\"> Reuters reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are getting newer  \tbases at home and more advanced training abroad for an expanded security  \trole that could put them on a collision course with militants&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Western and Palestinian officials said Abbas&#8217;s goal was to create a  \tPalestinian &#8220;gendarmerie,&#8221; a force trained in military tactics that operates  \tin civilian areas and is capable of carrying out police duties, restoring  \tlaw and order, and enforcing any existing and future agreements with Israel.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to basic training conducted at facilities in the West Bank  \tcity of Jericho and the Gaza Strip, about 500 men loyal to Abbas&#8217;s Fatah  \tfaction recently crossed from Gaza into Egypt for more advanced instruction  \tin police tactics, Western security officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of members of Abbas&#8217;s presidential guard will take similar  \tcourses in the coming months at a facility in Jordan as part of a $59.4  \tmillion U.S. security program that received a green light from Congress this  \tweek&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>Palestinian sources say Dahlan was personally coordinating the training  \tprograms and seeking additional assistance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Mecca Accord now looks set to crumble as the &#8220;compromise&#8221; technocrat  chosen as Interior Minister has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/articlePrint?articleId=USL23861646720070423\"> complained about at Dahlan&#8217;s growing influence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A struggle to control Palestinian security forces escalated on Monday  \twhen the obscure bureaucrat named by rival factions as a compromise choice  \tof interior minister submitted his resignation after just six weeks.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"midArticle_1\">Hani al-Qawasmi was persuaded to stay on in the job by Prime Minister  \tIsmail Haniyeh and attended the weekly cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"midArticle_2\">But the day&#8217;s turbulence put a spotlight on deep differences within the  \tunity government that Haniyeh&#8217;s Hamas Islamists and the secular Fatah  \tmovement&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>In his role as interior minister, Qawasmi was supposed to oversee the  \tsecurity services. But President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah appointed Mohammad  \tDahlan, one of Hamas&#8217;s main rivals, to serve as national security adviser&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>A government official said the dispute with Qawasmi centered on the role  \tof internal security chief Rashid Abu Shbak, an Abbas loyalist who has  \tassumed effective control over the security forces within the Interior  \tMinistry.<\/p>\n<p>Some Palestinian analysts saw the growing clout of Abu Shbak and Abbas&#8217;s  \tappointment of Dahlan as national security adviser as a bid to sideline  \tQawasmi and minimize his control over the security services, which are  \tmostly loyal to Fatah.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For those keeping score in <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=267\">the running battle between  Saudi King Abdullah and Vice President Cheney<\/a>, the &#8220;Mecca Accord&#8221; should  have been coded as a &#8220;surprise&#8221; victory for Abdullah.<\/p>\n<p>The White House has been quietly at work <a href=\"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/?p=268\">on several fronts<\/a> to  reverse this victory.<\/p>\n<p>Code the coming clashes between Fatah and Hamas as a victory for Cheney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Financial Times is reportingThe Financial Times is reporting that the &#8220;military wing&#8221; of Hamas has declared an end to a five-month-old ceasefire with Israel. Be that as it may, however, the &#8220;news&#8221; of the day is best understood as the collapse of the Saudi-backed ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah. Battles within the Palestinian Authority [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,31,10,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profcutler.com\/wordpress_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}