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Can Hamas Be Stopped from Seizing West Bank?

(Hudson Institute New York) Khaled Abu Toameh - PA leader Mahmoud Abbas is hoping that Israel will withdraw to the pre-1967 lines within the next two years to enable the Palestinians to establish an independent state with half of Jerusalem as its capital. But under the current circumstances, an Israeli pullout from these areas could, ironically, mark the beginning of the end of the Abbas era. In an interview published this week in a Kuwaiti newspaper, Abbas revealed that he had solid proof and "verified information" that Hamas was planning to take over the West Bank. If Israel wants to pull back from any territory, it needs to make sure who is going to be in control of that area. If Israel repeats the same mistake and hands over the West Bank to Abbas when he is still weak and does not enjoy much credibility among his own people, there is no doubt that Hamas will end up sitting on hilltops overlooking Ben-Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, and the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Hamas has never hidden its intention of overthrowing the Abbas regime and replacing it with a government that reports directly to Bashar Assad in Damascus and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran. Abbas is in power in the West Bank largely thanks to the presence of the Israeli security forces in these territories. Abbas knows very well that had it not been for the presence of the Israeli army in the West Bank, it is highly likely that Hamas would have been able to achieve its goal a long time ago. Many Palestinians are convinced that if a free and democratic election were to be held in the West Bank these days, Hamas would win again because of Fatah's failure to implement major reforms and get rid of icons of financial corruption among its top brass. The massive PA clampdown on Hamas may have caused serious damage to its terror infrastructure, but it has by no means affected popular support for the movement among Palestinians in the West Bank.
2010-01-08 08:38:02
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