Fatah and Hamas

Many Amer­i­cans mis­tak­enly believe that, in the Pales­tin­ian territories, Fatah are the good guys and Hamas are the bad ones. This belief, like most black-and-white asser­tions, is inaccurate.

Hamas, an Islamist party, sup­ports ter­ror­ism and refuses to rec­og­nize Israel, but it also deliv­ers vital human ser­vices to the Pales­tin­ian peo­ple. Fatah, a sec­u­lar party, is com­pletely cor­rupt and inef­fec­tual, but it has made some attempts to move the peace process for­ward. Both par­ties, as the cur­rent, low-grade civil war demonstrates, will do any­thing to gain and retain power — even if it means cir­cum­vent­ing the rule of law. Both par­ties, as they exist today, hurt the Pales­tin­ian peo­ple and the peace process as a whole.

But bar­ring the rise of a new Pales­tin­ian polit­i­cal party, the only path to peace still rests with Fatah. Changing Fatah, through whom peace has a chance, must be a top pri­or­ity for Tony Blair. Still, for the Pales­tin­ian Author­ity itself be com­pletely reformed in order for it to serve as the gov­ern­ment of a future Pales­tin­ian state.