Israel Matzav

For whom do the Dugmash's work?

The Dugmash clan's 'Army of Islam' was the group that kidnapped BBC Reporter useful idiot Alan Johnston. Hamas has taken credit for freeing Johnston, and just to keep things fair, Johnston also paid a visit to 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen before escaping to the Scottish highlands.

Each side has accused the other of 'running' the Dugmash's. Hamas claims they are really pro-Fatah and close with Fatah bad boy Muhammed Dahlan. Fatah claims that Johnston could have been released long ago but Hamas kept preventing it.

I cannot even pretend to know which claim is correct. I only point out the two sides of the argument to show that there is really no difference between Fatah and Hamas. They are two sides of the same coin.

Hamas is responsible:

Abu Zaida, a senior Fatah official kidnapped briefly by Hamas gunmen this year, said the kidnapping arose from a dispute between Hamas and the Daghmush family who, he claimed, have acted as their mercenaries.

He said: “The people who kidnapped Alan Johnston are the people who were supported by Hamas.

“The weapons which they used to kidnap Alan Johnston were supplied by Hamas. Their budget comes from money given to them by Hamas.

“One of the reasons for Alan Johnston’s kidnap was that Hamas stopped supplying the kidnappers with money. Hamas has now had to drink from the same cup as everyone else.”

So far there has been silence from the BBC about visits made to Gaza by its director-general Mark Thompson during the kidnapping.

It is believed he was meeting senior Hamas officials with the aim of securing the release of one of his staff.

A few weeks ago the Sunday Express was informed that the BBC was taking advice on how to handle the crisis from a London-based private security firm which employs former members of the special forces. We were told that the corporation was considering paying a ransom of about £2million for the return of their man, a claim strenuously denied by senior executives at the time.

The Sunday Express did not run the story for fear of damaging the delicate negotiations going on behind the scenes in London and Gaza.

It is being claimed that Hamas has benefited greatly from Mr Johnston’s release and there has been a trade-off.

Fatah officials in the West Bank say Hamas passed weapons and cash to the Daghmush clansmen in exchange for the hostage.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, an adviser to Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, said Mr Johnston’s re­lease was carefully scripted.

He added: “It’s as if we’re watching a movie where the thieves in Gaza fall out and one of them claims to be honest and brave and the other is the bad guy. This Hamas game fools no one.”

If it was a game the stakes have been very high, with the BBC and Mr Johnston’s family convinced that his life was in real danger on more than one occasion.

One theory is that he was kid­napped to exert pressure on Hamas to hand over the killers of Daghmush fighters. Sources in the Gaza Strip say the relationship between the Daghmush clan and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyehit is one born of mutual needs.

Fatah is responsible:

"Michael Ancram: You mentioned that Alan Johnston's captors were a family...
Usamah Hamdan: The Dagmoush family.
MA: That they were associated with Dahlan. Would Dahlan have known?
UH: Yes. He knew this, he does. And for three times we came to the point to release Alan Johnston and by telephone call from [Samir Musharawi], who is Dahlan's man, they stopped that." (thanks Keval)

You make the call.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:34 AM