Fatah strikes back at Hamas in West Bank

Israel National News:

Fears of a spillover of violence from Gaza into Judea and Samaria are apparently coming true.

Coming off three days in which some 80 Arabs were killed in Fatah-Hamas warring in Gaza, Wednesday night saw shootings, arsons, mass arrests and building takeovers in Ramallah, Jenin, Shechem and elsewhere in Judea and Samaria.

In Jenin, Fatah terrorists seized a Hamas school, hospital and offices on Wednesday, and 200 Fatah activists marched in Jenin streets and shot in the air, after having burned down a Hamas club center. Al-Aqsa Brigades terror chief Zakhariya Zubeidi announced a ban on all Hamas activity in the city until further notice.

In Ramallah and nearby Bituniyah, Fatah is engaged in rounding up and arresting Hamas commanders from their homes. Hamas reported that armed Fatah men had kidnapped a Ramallah city councilman and burned his office. Two prominent Hamas officials in the araea were shot at in separate incidents, but no one was hurt in those attempts.

South of Ariel, in Salfit, Fatah men burned a Hamas office and raided other offices in the region. In Tul Karem, as well, east of Netanya, a Hamas office was shot at, and two Hamas cars were burnt. Fatah-Hamas gun battles were reported in Shechem and Bethlehem as well.

With Fatah on the run in Gaza, it has now called on Hamas members in Judea and Samaria to renounce their allegiance to Hamas if they do not wish to be harmed. Fatah has begun mass-arrests of Hamas leaders, and Fatah chief Abu Mazen has reportedly ordered a counter-attack in Judea and Samaria.

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One specific ramification of a Hamas victory is that without Hamas recognition of the Oslo Accords, it cannot demand that Israel fulfill its Oslo-obligation to provide a land-corridor between Gaza and Judea. Fatah, however, does recognize Olso.

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Israel is pushing for a separation strategy now which will further isolate Hamas and Gaza. It appears that Fatah will be competing with Israel in the number of Hamas officials who are in custody. Want to bet on which Hamas would rather be held by at this point?

The former IDF intelligence chief says Hamas in control of Gaza is a serious threat to Israel.

Former IDF Intelligence Deputy Chief Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror said that Gaza's transformation into an Islamic preserve ruled brutally by Hamas poses huge and imminent dangers to Israeli security. While the corrupt Fatah was "busy stealing public monies," Amidror told Ynet, Hamas was strengthening militarily and was poised to "turn Gaza into Hamastan like Hizbullah in Lebanon, with Iranian and Al-Qaeda elements. We will have a full-fledged terrorist state on our borders. This will affect not only Sderot, but soon Kiryat Gat and Ashdod as well, and in the long run, rockets will even be directed at Haifa."

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The story has a lot of the told you so character from those who opposed disengagement from Gaza. Many feel that the situation in Gaza will require the IDF to take and control Gaza for years.

Gateway Pundit has a roundup on the Gaza debacle along with photos.