PALESTINIANS WOULD RATHER HAVE CIVIL WAR THAN A STATE

A PALESTINIAN STATE IS IN JEOPARDY, NOT BECAUSE THE PALESTINIANS ARE KILLING JEWS, BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE KILLING EACH OTHER.

Jordan's King Warns Palestinian Statehood at Risk Due to Internal Feuding - Suleiman al-Khalidi
Jordan's King Abdullah warned feuding Palestinians on Wednesday that their hopes of statehood could be permanently wrecked within months unless they step back from the brink of civil war. "I really think that by the first half of 2007 we might wake up to the reality and realize that the two-state solution is no longer attainable, and then what?," he said. "My view of a two-state solution is a viable Palestinian state, and this is becoming more and more blurred for me." (Reuters)

See also Rival "Fiefdoms" Eclipsing Dream of Palestinian State - Luke Baker
At their closest point, the Gaza Strip and West Bank are barely 45 km (28 miles) apart, but they are increasingly two separate worlds. The two Palestinian territories have always had a different look and feel, but in recent weeks the separation has grown starker to the point of severance. The rise to power of Hamas has allowed it to tighten its grip on its base in Gaza, while Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, which held power for more than a decade before Hamas' election victory in January, has sought to consolidate its stronghold in the West Bank.

The result, political scientists say, is the emergence of two increasingly antagonistic and well-armed "fiefdoms" with competing ideological, social, and political visions. "It is a very feasible possibility that Gaza becomes a Hamas state and the West Bank a Fatah state," said Mordechai Kedar, a lecturer in Arab affairs at Israel's Bar-Ilan University. (Reuters)

SEE: Gaza: Gunmen kill Palestinian officer (YNet)
Report: Gunmen shot and killed a Palestinian intelligence officer near his home in Gaza. The officer is a member of the security apparatus loyal to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. (Reuters)