October 4, 2007 - "An explosion went off early Thursday near a group of Hamas policemen patrolling in Gaza City, wounding three, including one critically, Hamas officials said." Hamas blames Fatah for this attack and another earlier in the week that killed three Fatah activists and a bystander. The explosion earlier this week was identified by Hamas as a "failed attack on a Hamas security compound." The next day, "Hamas raided a four-story Fatah office building" and collected several suspects.
This article is actually very short (more information about this incident will surely be articled once it is actually discovered); I write about it, though, because I've been keeping track of the tensions in the Middle East throughout all of my blogs and this is another I've discovered that discusses the major problems between Hamas and Fatah, two Islamic groups who continue to fight over power and lineage. This article is very unclear about specifics in the situation of the bombing, but certainly highlights the key concept in most of my news readings: tensions are so high between these two groups especially that any attack on either faction results in immediate suspicion of the other and often retaliation without certifiable evidence of the attacker(s). I've had to do research, actually, just to (try to) understand the differences between these two groups and why they are even fighting. If you're interested, here are two links to great summaries about each group (my apologies, but paraphrasing all the information would take me at least a day):
Hamas - http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/
Fatah - http://www.cfr.org/publication/13391/
A really important thing to understand about these two groups in the present-day is that Hamas, a Palestinian militant group (and a terrorist organization, according to the US government), won the Palestinian Authority's general legislative election in January 2006; in doing so, Hamas defeated Fatah, the party of PA's president Mahmoud Abbas, and later (in June 2007) took control of the Gaza strip. This defeat was the beginning of a huge power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, the same struggle that continues today (especially since Hamas's newfound control of the Gaza strip). A huge problem remains, as I mentioned in my last post about the Peace Conference in D.C. in November: Hamas refuses to recognize the state of Israel.
These issues in the Middle East, especially between these two factions who share the same religion but disagree about the true lineage of Abraham, are interesting to me because the war in that area is so prevalent to our culture and all the cultures around the world. The issues existing in the Middle East right now (like the issues that have existed there for years) mirror so many issues in other countries where human rights are continually violated, the faith of millions of peoples is denied and suppressed, and the beliefs of citizens in a country are (in many cases) forced to be the same. Especially in an area where religion IS government and vice-versa, differences in belief create a class of outcasts who are not simply looked down upon, but often killed for their opposing (or even slightly dissimilar) faith.
These issues must be addressed, they must be solved...somehow. I can honestly say I don't have the answer, but I definitely know that this is a problem - a problem for Middle Easterners, Americans, Africans, Central and Latin Americans, Europeans, Asians, everyone. The war in Iraq and the problems existing in various countries there may not directly affect some or any of the people I just mentioned, but the concept behind this power struggle and the incredible loss of human life each day in that area should alarm and also teach the rest of us.
"Hamas Blames Fatah for Blast in Gaza that Wounds Three"
The Associated Press
4 October 2007
International Herald Tribune
Gaza City, Gaza Strip
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/04/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Blast.php
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