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Monday, April 29, 2013

Hamas and Fatah "unity" sham goes on - and Fatah leaders get bombed

Hamas and Fatah are still trying to negotiate a framework for negotiating a way for them to have meetings that are meant to lead to more talks to give gullible observers the pretense that they are interested in unification.

The latest is that some mid-level members of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Cairo to discuss the composition of an interim government even though they disagree on whether or when actual elections should take place after the supposed creation of this government. The talks are described as "crucial."

Prime minister Fayyad has not been replaced, and he is seemingly still doing what he was doing before he "resigned." Given how unlikely it is that Hamas and Fatah will agree on a new government soon, I think he will be the "outgoing prime minister" for months to come.

But to know how things really are doing between Hamas and Fatah, just check this out:
Assailants bombed the car of a Fatah leader in the southern Gaza Strip at dawn Monday, police said.

The attackers planted a 500-gram explosive device targeting the car of Monther al-Bardawil outside his home in Rafah, said police spokesman Ayman al-Bandakji.

Witnesses told Ma'an the explosion shook the neighborhood.

The Fatah official's car was damaged but no injuries were reported. Al-Bandakji said police had opened an investigation into the incident.

Earlier in April, assailants set fire to the car of Fatah's secretary-general in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Mahmud Hussein's car was torched outside his home in Rafah on April 18.
That is a more accurate barometer of how much Fatah and Hamas want to work together than any number of preliminary meetings.