Israel Matzav

Palestinian Civil War Watch - Militant camps sprout in growing Gaza instability

Well isn't this special? The 'Palestinians' are setting up armed camps by faction in Gaza on the ground where the Jews used to live. While they claim those camps will be used in the 'war against Israel,' it is at least as likely that they will be used in a civil war among the 'Palestinians.'

It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people....

Militant squatters loyal to rivals Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are turning open lots in the Gaza Strip into ad hoc military bases, a development that some fear will lead to open warfare between rival Palestinian factions.

Leaders at the camps say they are acting in the name of the Palestinian uprising against Israel, but the growing presence of what are essentially guerrilla training camps comes at a time of growing instability in Gaza.

"Everyone is showing their strength under the umbrella of the resistance," said Tawfik Abu Khoussa, a former spokesman of the Palestinian Interior Ministry. "If there is a little problem between the factions, maybe they will start a civil war."

...

"From 16 years old, the children have to be a part of a faction," said Abu Harwun, a commander of a militia affiliated with Fatah known as the Abu Reesh brigades.

The camps "raise the hope" of teenagers who are recruited fresh out of high school so they can be prepared for the "military life," he said. [What a positive influence. /sarc CiJ]

Abu Harwun, who used a pseudonym because he is wanted by Israel, commands a former Israeli military outpost overlooking Gaza's second largest city of Khan Younis.

...

"People are scared that this power struggle between Fatah and Hamas can turn ugly into a violent struggle between the two," said Eyad Saraj, a human rights activist who heads the Gaza Community Mental Health Program.

Mr. Saraj said that the political rivalry is liable to quickly devolve into a free-for-all among rival militia strongmen and regionally based Gaza clans.

"If everyone is taking a piece of land and making it his base, we fear that Gaza will be turned into a feudal system in which these military leaders will take an area and declare it their own territory," he said.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:08 PM