Is there any real difference between Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas?
Once again, the answer is no.
Just like Hamas said that its Al Qassam Brigades will not give up its weapons in any "unity" agreement, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades of Fatah has said exactly the same thing.
Abu Mohammed, spokesman of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Nidal division which operates in Gaza, said, "I do not think that the weapons of the resistance will be a roadblock on the subject of Palestinian reconciliation. On the contrary, Palestinian reconciliation will unite the Palestinian rifle against the enemy, both at the political level and at the military level."
The spokesman added, "We in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades will not allow anyone, whether The current government in Gaza or the Ramallah government or a government of national unity to withdraw weapons of the resistance because they are legitimate weapons and directed against the enemy."
Abbas, of course, told gullible Westerners that he had dismantled the al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in 2008. He lied.
Here they are, today:
And they are in the West Bank as well as Gaza.
As far as I can tell, they are on Fatah's payroll, and very possibly getting indirectly financed by Western governments who bend over backwards to pretend that Mahmoud Abbas and his party are the moderate, peaceful guys.
You would think that people would have caught on to the "good cop, bad cop" routine by now. Because the Fatah and Hamas terrorists are laughing every day at the stupidity of the West.