Following a weekend of bloody clashes with an extremist group that declared the Gaza Strip an Islamic "emirate," Hamas has re-established its firm grip on power.
The chaos was unleashed on Friday in the southern town of Rafah, according to wire reports. There, during Friday prayers, Abdel-Latif Moussa, the leader of Jund Ansar Allah, or Soldiers of the Companions of God, declared the Gaza Strip an Islamic emirate.
Although not directly linked to al-Qaida, the group subscribes to a similar brand of ultraconservative Islam. The group has criticized Hamas for maintaining a cease-fire with Israel and for its milder form of Islamic law.
Hamas responded to the call by sending its security forces, who engaged in two fierce gun battles on Friday night outside Moussa's mosque and home. The fighting ended on Saturday morning, when an explosion destroyed Moussa's home and killed him inside. While Hamas claims that Moussa blew himself up, neighbors told Reuters that demolition charges laid by Hamas had caused the explosion.
Deaths and Arrests
The fighting left over 150 people wounded and at least 24 dead, including six members of the security forces. Hamas authorities have also arrested some 100 people.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since June 2007, when it wrested control of the region from Fatah. The weekend's actions suggest that the group, which is classified as a terrorist organization in most of the Western world, is trying to distance itself from more radical groups, solidify its hold on power in the region and strengthen its hand should it resume negotiations with Israel.
On Sunday, while other splinter groups were calling for revenge, Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ehab Ghussen told Reuters "the situation in the Gaza Strip is fully under control" and that Hamas would "re-educate" those who strayed from "moderate Islam."
In Monday's newspapers, German commentators worry that Hamas' nod toward moderation might signal more of a tactical move than an encouraging sign -- and that there might be more fighting to come.
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:
"Hamas will not let its monopoly on power go challenged. By bloodily putting down the revolt of a few dozen Islamists, Hamas isn't just demonstrating its strength; it was much more concerned with sending a subtle signal to the international community and Israel: Without Hamas, there will be no solution to the Middle East conflict."
"There are rumors that the uprising over the weekend was managed by Israel's intelligence services and Fatah members in the West Bank in order to unsettle Hamas' hold on power. If that is really the case, then the attempt has fundamentally failed. Two years after it took power by force -- and despite its increasing international isolation, a three-week war and a blockade of the Gaza Strip -- Hamas is not in danger."
"With its brutal action against the Islamist revolutionaries, Hamas has also tried to differentiate itself from extremists. Hamas is using both this action and its months-long cease-fire with Israel to demand from Israel and the international community that they no longer isolate it and that they involve it in the diplomatic process. The lesson from the weekend revolt is that Hamas will not allow power to be wrested from its hands by either war or extremists -- and that, for better or worse, Fatah and Israel must negotiate with Hamas."
The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:
"For a long time now, there have been rumors that Hamas has much less to fear from Fatah than it does from Islamic separatists, who don't agree with the course it is following. … In the Muslim northern part of Nigeria, in parts of Somalia and in northern Yemen, the 'model' of the Taliban has apparently been rather infectious, even when you don't always find direct connections to them or even to al-Qaida. These groups find that even the Muslim Brotherhood is too lukewarm for them. Their radicalization is born of frustration, poverty and hopelessness. Similar strains of sectarianism and radicalism can be found in the history of Europe as well, especially in the era of the religious wars of the 16th century."
Conservative Die Welt writes:
"Of course, the real issue was not that Hamas wanted to take a stand against the implementation of sharia law in Gaza but, rather, to defend itself from an attack on its power. We should be wary about calling Hamas a moderate group for the sole reason that one can always find a group of nuttier people somewhere else. Likewise, one should also avoid making the mistake of lumping together all Islamists. …"
"In the past, there has been a series of insinuations that Hamas has somehow aligned itself with al-Qaida fighters. But it's no wonder why Hamas has vehemently denied these connections. Despite the fact that Hamas continues to have a bad reputation as a terror group and is ostracized around the world, being in a such a coalition would cause it even further damage. Since it assumed responsibility for governing in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has been fairly reserved. Theirs is a creeping process of Islamization rather than a radical one."
Left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:
"Over the weekend, for the first time, Hamas police officers delivered a blow whose successful conclusion also benefits Israel. For the first time, an alliance between Israel and Hamas was theoretically possible because both of them shared the same enemy. But there will be no alliance. No, Hamas can very well take care of extremist Islamists on its own."
"There's no doubt that the last word on Hamas has yet to be spoken. Things could get much worse in Gaza -- much more extreme, and much more brutal. The huge prison that we call the Gaza Strip is merely a breeding group for Islamists."
-- Josh Ward
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