Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
It is not just the bereaved families of the slain who are weeping at the tragedy in Gaza — it is the whole Arab world. President Mahmoud Abbas rightly calls it madness but this should not disguise the fact that he and other Palestinian leaders of both factions are ultimately responsible for this wretched state of affairs. It is the refusal of the Hamas and Fatah leaderships to bury their differences, abandon their power bases, put aside past quarrels and work together for the good of all the Palestinian people that has brought about this revolting spectacle of Palestinian murdering Palestinian. They should all hang their heads in shame.
Every opportunity and every encouragement has been given them by outside well-wishers, not least the Kingdom which worked long and hard to broker February’s seemingly historic peace agreement. In recent days Egyptian diplomats have also been unstinting in their efforts to arrange cease-fires, some of which were broken within minutes of coming into force. It is easy to blame undisciplined radicals on both sides. There is certainly a reprehensible element of vendetta and score-settling in the violence, but the bloodshed in Gaza could not be happening unless it were being organized and sanctioned by field commanders. That therefore implicates their political masters and lays the ultimate blame for this obscene internecine bloodletting at the doors of the most senior Fatah and Hamas leadership. Access the full article>>