Palestinian president’s anti-Hamas plot backfires
PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to isolate his political rivals Hamas in the Gaza Strip appears to be backfiring, with his competitor for control of the West Bank, ousted Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan, forming an alliance with Hamas against Abbas.
Israel began reducing electricity supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip on Monday in agreement with Abbas, who said the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) would no longer foot the bill for Gaza’s electricity.
Hamas politburo deputy chairperson in Gaza, Khalil Al Hayya, has called for the establishment of a “national rescue front” to challenge the PA, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.
Al Hayya slammed the PA for its decision to request that Israel reduce its supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, despite warnings by human rights organisations about the disastrous effect this would have on the coastal territory’s 2 million inhabitants.
Gaza is already under a severe Israeli and Egyptian blockade that has limited imports of fuel and the supply of electricity.
This new alliance shows Palestinian politics doing a 180-degree shift, simultaneously emphasising the adage that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
Hamas’s military coup in 2007 was reported to be an attempt to head off a coup against Hamas by Dahlan, a prominent Fatah leader with Israeli and American backing.
Having failed, Dahlan eventually returned to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and tried to undermine Abbas’s rule while busying himself building up his own support base.
Dahlan was ousted from the Fatah movement in 2011 following charges of corruption and crime.
Before he could be tried, the former Fatah strongman fled to Jordan after issuing a scathing attack on Abbas.
While in exile, Dahlan continued to work towards replacing Abbas, culminating in serious clashes between PA security and his armed followers in several West Bank refugee camps.
Not only does Dahlan have the support of Hamas now, but reportedly the Egyptians too.