Fatah calls Hamas kettle black

Fatah seized on yesterday's non-story of Hamas leader Aziz Dwaik supposedly saying that Hamas accepts Israel right to exist and then denying it.

Palestine Press Agency reports that Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf says that this shows that Hamas speaks out of both sides of its mouth. He said that Hamas tries to fool Arab and Islamic countries when it says it is a resistance movement, and then tells the international community about its willingness to recognize Israel, and live with them long-term truce, even in a Palestinian state with provisional borders.

He then accuses Dwaik's denial as being insincere, saying that even after his attempts at "spin" he proved that Hamas really does recognize Israel.

What is funny, of course, is that Fatah does the exact same thing, as it pretends to support the "peace process" on the one hand and turns around and says it supports "resistance" on the other. Weekly violent demonstrations in Bil'in and Nilin are wholeheartedly supported by Fatah, PLO and PA leader Abbas. Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades continues to exist, and presumably still gets support and funding from Fatah leadership. Even Fatah's platform from last year mentioned "resistance" as well as support for the "peace process" (given large preconditions.)

It is especially funny to hear Fatah accuse Hamas of speaking differently to Arab audiences than to Western audiences, as it was Fatah's leader Yasir Arafat that turned that skill into an art form.