Palestinians' Biggest Tragedy: Failed Leadership

by Khaled Abu Toameh
December 11, 2015 at 5:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7028/palestinians-failed-leadership

Translations of this item:

Danish
Dutch

It was recently reported that the commander of the Islamic State (ISIS) branch in Sinai held talks in the Gaza Strip with leaders of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezaddin al-Qassam Brigades, about expanding their cooperation.
President Abbas does not seem to care whether the Palestinians of Gaza are turned into hostages and prisoners. He is probably hoping that the crisis will drive Palestinians to revolt against the Hamas regime, paving the way for his PA to return to the Gaza Strip.
Instead of trying to solve the Gaza crisis, Abbas is too busy waging a diplomatic war against Israel. He wants to file "war crimes" charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court -- ignoring the fact that he and Hamas are responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The Palestinians ignore the fact that their biggest tragedy over the past few decades has been (and remains) their failed and corrupt leadership that is willing to sacrifice them for its own interests.

Since June 2013, the Rafah border crossing, the sole crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, has been closed for most of the time.

Since the beginning of 2015, the Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah terminal for a total of only 21 days.

Last week, the Egyptians opened the border crossing for two days, allowing a few hundred Palestinians to cross in both directions.

Last year, by contrast, the terminal was open for a total of 123 days, and in 2013 for 263 days.

These figures indicate that the Egyptians have stepped up security measures along their shared border with the Gaza Strip over the past few years.

In addition to the continued closure of the Rafah terminal, the Egyptian army continues to destroy dozens of smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. In recent weeks, the Egyptians have been pumping seawater into the tunnels, causing most of them to collapse.

The Egyptians have good reason to be concerned about the smuggling tunnels -- especially in light of increased Islamist terror attacks against Egyptian soldiers and civilians in the Sinai Peninsula. Reports about cooperation between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Islamist terror groups in Sinai, have also prompted the Egyptians to keep the Rafah terminal shut for most of the time.

A report on Israel's Channel 2 last week revealed that Shadi al-Munei, commander of the Islamic State (ISIS) branch in Sinai, recently visited the Gaza Strip for secret talks with Hamas leaders.

According to the report, the ISIS commander held talks with leaders of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezaddin al-Qassam Brigades, about expanding the cooperation between the two groups.

But there is another reason the Egyptians insist on keeping the Rafah terminal shut, leaving thousands of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the border: the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Fatah.

Before blaming the Egyptians for the predicament of the residents of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians need, for a change, to hold their leaders responsible for their continued suffering.

In recent weeks, it has become evident that the Hamas-Fatah dispute is the main reason behind the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi does not trust Hamas; that is the reason he is not prepared to reopen the terminal on a permanent basis.

Sisi recently told Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas that Egypt would be prepared to reopen the terminal permanently only if Hamas relinquishes control over the Palestinian side of the border and allows PA forces to take control of it, as was the situation before the summer of 2007, when the Islamist movement seized control over the entire Gaza Strip.

While Sisi does not trust Hamas, it is worth noting that Hamas does not trust the PA and Abbas. Hamas does not want to see Abbas's security forces return to the Gaza Strip in any way, even if that means keeping thousands of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the border and living in an open-air prison.

"Hamas will never hand control over the terminal to the filthy hands that betrayed the Palestinians," explained Salah Bardaweel, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip. "Hamas can't sell its people to these hands, regardless of the price." He also claimed that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been paying bribes to PA officials in the West Bank to obtain permission from the Egyptian authorities to cross through the Rafah terminal.

By refusing to cede control over the border crossing with Egypt, Hamas is in fact holding the entire population of the Gaza Strip as hostages. Hamas is saying, "We either continue to manage the Rafah terminal, or no one leaves or enters the Gaza Strip." The most Hamas is prepared to accept is an arrangement that allows it to manage the terminal in partnership with the PA -- an idea to which Abbas remains strongly opposed.

According to the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, about 25,000 Palestinians need to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah terminal for "humanitarian reasons." Still, Hamas is not prepared to make any concessions to alleviate the suffering of its people.

Abbas, for his part, does not really seem to care whether the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are turned into hostages and prisoners. In fact, he is probably hoping that the crisis will drive Palestinians to revolt against the Hamas regime, paving the way for his PA to return to the Gaza Strip.

Instead of trying to solve the crisis in the Gaza Strip, Abbas is too busy waging a diplomatic war against Israel in the international arena. He wants to file "war crimes" charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court, while ignoring the fact that he and Hamas are responsible for the suffering of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-Fatah dispute has turned the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip into hostages and prisoners. The Palestinians will never be able to solve their problems as long as they continue to ignore the fact that their biggest tragedy over the past few decades has been (and remains) their failed and corrupt leadership that is willing to sacrifice them for its own interests.

Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)

© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Related Topics: Egypt, Palestinian Authority

Recent Articles by Khaled Abu Toameh

Hamas Must Be Defeated, Not Legitimized, 2024-11-10
Iran's New Plan: Lost Gaza, So Take West Bank, 2024-09-05
Iran's War Against Israel - From the West Bank, 2024-08-28
Palestinians' Musical Chairs: Replacing One Mohammed with Another Mohammed, 2024-03-01
Palestinians Need New Leaders, Not New Governments, 2024-02-26

receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free gatestone institute mailing list.

Comment on this item

8 Reader Comments

Dennis Egan • Dec 13, 2015 at 18:42

The biggest tragedy for the Palestinians comes from their Arab neighbors, the UN, most of the international media and of course the IAC (the International Antisemitic Community) etc who promote them as victims, blame Israel for all that is wrong, financially support their corrupt leaders, and promulgate their propaganda which is lapped up by the left wing masses. Unfortunately, the best strategy for peace is to completely cease all support for the Palestinians until they come up with a two-state deal with the Israelis. The current approach of victim and blame game will just lead to more and more death and destruction. Anyone who really hopes for and cares about peace in this part of Middle East should demand open and honest discussion and totally reject rhetoric, demonization and anti-Semitism that has consistently undermined any chance for peace. People now need to decide what side they are on -- i.e., decide whether they will be RIGHTEOUS and truly demand and support peace or COLLABORATE to maintain the status quo which will produce never ending violence and destruction for the Palestinians.

Reply->

Steve Bondorowsky • Dec 13, 2015 at 18:28

The leaders of Hamas and Fatah don't want peace. They don't want to make peace because it will put them out of business. The business of collecting donations for their people who they oppress for that purpose. Their main concern is of how the profits will be divided. They're exploiting the situation and making money. It is the simple so-called Palestinians that are dumb enough to think they will get their sliver of land back. Arafat did the same and left a very wealthy wife.

Reply->

Sam • Dec 13, 2015 at 12:21

Sadly, the Palestinian people have been pawns of the Arab world for the past century. Internecine fighting, sectarian violence, and a lack of internal leadership (albeit frequently due to external factors) have ruined multiple chances for peace.

Multiple Arab states (primarily Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq), or their proxies have, for all intents and purposes, been fighting over the carcass of a nascent Palestinian state since the 1920s.

The last thing any of them wanted was a truly independent Arab Palestine (unless it was on their, individual, terms).

Reply->

steven L • Dec 12, 2015 at 00:36

How many Palestinians are REALLY interested in any dialogue with Israel?

In which Muslim country have "the people" ever been able to overthrow their dictators be they religious or secular?

The notion of submission, through brainwashing of the masses, invites for tyranny by one individual in secular regime ("homme fort" backed by army) or by a fanatical religious organization.

The Palestinians actually are the perfect example where both system of tyranny exist simultaneously! Amazing.

Reply->

Mickey Oberman • Dec 11, 2015 at 15:44

"In recent weeks, the Egyptians have been pumping seawater into the tunnels, causing most of them to collapse."

Why does Israel not do the same? The Mediterranean has plenty of water for such an undertaking.

Reply->

Menahem Lester

Mickey Oberman • Dec 17, 2015 at 11:55

Israel is plagued by Environmentalists - see the 10K demonstration last week in T.A. against developing recently dicovered vast offshore gas-fields - & also the rapid opposition to fracking on-shore south of Beit Shemesh.
These types would close Israel down if the natural environment in the Gaza Tunnels were threatened by seawater. Luckily, Egypt doesn't have to worry.

Israel, Jordan & the PA want to pump seawater from the Red Sea into the Dead sea to restore the water level, provide sweet water etc. Beware the environmentalists!

Reply->

Stan Lee • Dec 11, 2015 at 13:19

They have nurtured Jew-hate to an irreconcilable position. While some may turn away from thoughts of murder and mayhem, others will not rationalize that Jews lived in what is Israel today, long before the title "Palestinians" was dreamed up. The Roman conquest of the Jews brought the name "Palestine" or "Palestina" from the Romans who had found the Jews more difficult to conquer than many Roman conquests before it. In order to erase the name Judea or anything connected to its history, Rome named that conquered land "Palestina." Roman metal currency of that conquered land is today, in museums. Rome wanted no reference to the former kingdom of the Jews. Rome may have occupied that land, killed Jews rising up in protest to Rome as it attempted to stifle the religion/worship of the Jews, until finally, Rome allowed some accommodation to the Jews by overseeing a Jewish government.

Reply->

Solomon Balas • Dec 11, 2015 at 07:32

The root of the tragedy to my mind can be found in Britain mismanaging expectations and inciting during the mandate following Faisal/Weiseman agreement.

Reply->