(Boston Globe) Anne Barnard - Young soldiers in the Fatah-dominated National Security Force see Fatah as the party of the flamboyant Yasser Arafat, 1970s airplane hijackings, leather jackets, flashy cars, and the Oslo Accords. Hamas is the party of regimented clerics, 1990s suicide bombings, close-cropped beards, modest houses, and an unwavering refusal to compromise with Israel. Rival clans and armed gangs are locked in a primal battle for patronage jobs, influence, and physical control of neighborhoods. In this environment, a gunman's political affiliation tends to be based on loyalty to his militia hierarchy, not the nuances of his views on Islamism.
2006-06-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive