I am not a suspicious person by nature. I usually take things as they are because I assume others are as honest about their dealings as I am. I am not going to say that I am completely honest all the time - that would be impossible. You simply cannot tell someone their new dress is hideous, or admit to your significant other that you bought a candy bar and five bags of butterscotch candies at the grocery store with the shopping order that is otherwise filled with beans, lentils, onions and carrots. However, when it comes to serious matters, I am honest and I expect others to be honest, too. I am not in the business of questioning others; it is simply too tedious.
I know there are those who make suspiciousness their business - police, security officers, members of intelligence agencies and journalists, just to name a few. They have suspiciousness cornered, or so I thought.
Then, I read the headline: "Reward for Smuggling: Arms Transferred Directly to Abu Mazen." It seems that 2,000 AK-47 rifles were transferred from Egypt to the Fatah terrorists in Gaza with Israel's blessing. That's when I started to get suspicious, too.
Weren't the Fatah terrorists our enemies just a few months ago? What happened since then? I understand that Hamas got voted in, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel and Hamas has been fighting with Fatah, but how exactly does that make Fatah our friend? Am I missing something?
I seem to recall that, although Fatah shakes the hands of our politicians in widely published photo opportunities and promises the world to us, Fatah has never honored one agreement they have made; that Fatah called for the Intifada and used their "military wing," the Al-Aksa Brigades to carry out their orders; and that Fatah and the Al-Aksa Brigades are directly responsible for the deaths of countless innocent Israelis. It seems to me that Fatah is just a less honest terrorist organization than Hamas, but a terrorist organization nonetheless. At least Hamas is honest. Hamas tells us outright that they hate us and they want to kill every one of us. Fatah whispers that they hate us behind closed doors, or makes speeches in Arabic about how they hate us, and then "translates" those speeches into English extolling our virtues as a "partner in peace."
I have a suspicion - now, stop me if you have heard this before - that Fatah is not our friend. I know this suspicion may come as a shock to those in the Israeli government and security services who, I suspect, all suffer from some strange epidemic of short-term memory loss.
So, in the interest of public safety, I will try to give a brief recap of the friendly nature of Fatah. For brevity's sake, I'll just cover 2005-06 (you can go to the ADL website where I got the list if you want a more comprehensive rundown):
So, if both Fatah and Hamas hate us, and both Fatah and Hamas want to kill our people, and "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an Arab proverb, then why are they fighting in the streets? It seems strange to me. Pushing my suspicions to the limit, I came up with a theory.
What if Hamas and Fatah are playing a game of deception with the Israeli government? Perhaps, these fanatical and deadly terrorist organizations are smart enough and sophisticated enough to pull off a con I thought only small children, public servants and angry parents could pull off: "the good cop/bad cop" con. I know it seems too sophisticated for our enemies, but let's entertain the notion for a moment.
Perhaps, Hamas is the "bad cop" and Fatah is the "good cop." They decide to pit their foot-soldiers into a mild street battle that the foreign journalists bloat into an "impending civil war." Then, the Fatah and Hamas generals have a nice sip of tea and wait for the West to come charging in on their white horses to pressure Israel into supporting large money and arms transfers into Gaza. Then, the Hamas and Fatah generals laugh about how they have gotten Israel to agree to her own demise.
But then again, I'm probably wrong. It would be just too much for me to notice if Israel was the butt of some awful joke, right? After all, I'm not suspicious; it is simply too tedious.
I know there are those who make suspiciousness their business - police, security officers, members of intelligence agencies and journalists, just to name a few. They have suspiciousness cornered, or so I thought.
Then, I read the headline: "Reward for Smuggling: Arms Transferred Directly to Abu Mazen." It seems that 2,000 AK-47 rifles were transferred from Egypt to the Fatah terrorists in Gaza with Israel's blessing. That's when I started to get suspicious, too.
Weren't the Fatah terrorists our enemies just a few months ago? What happened since then? I understand that Hamas got voted in, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel and Hamas has been fighting with Fatah, but how exactly does that make Fatah our friend? Am I missing something?
I seem to recall that, although Fatah shakes the hands of our politicians in widely published photo opportunities and promises the world to us, Fatah has never honored one agreement they have made; that Fatah called for the Intifada and used their "military wing," the Al-Aksa Brigades to carry out their orders; and that Fatah and the Al-Aksa Brigades are directly responsible for the deaths of countless innocent Israelis. It seems to me that Fatah is just a less honest terrorist organization than Hamas, but a terrorist organization nonetheless. At least Hamas is honest. Hamas tells us outright that they hate us and they want to kill every one of us. Fatah whispers that they hate us behind closed doors, or makes speeches in Arabic about how they hate us, and then "translates" those speeches into English extolling our virtues as a "partner in peace."
I have a suspicion - now, stop me if you have heard this before - that Fatah is not our friend. I know this suspicion may come as a shock to those in the Israeli government and security services who, I suspect, all suffer from some strange epidemic of short-term memory loss.
So, in the interest of public safety, I will try to give a brief recap of the friendly nature of Fatah. For brevity's sake, I'll just cover 2005-06 (you can go to the ADL website where I got the list if you want a more comprehensive rundown):
- April 17, 2006: Nine people were killed and at least 40 wounded in a suicide bombing near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. The Islamic Jihad and Fatah's Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack.
- March 30, 2006: Four people were killed in a suicide bombing outside Kedumim. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility for the attack.
- October 16, 2005: Palestinian gunmen killed three Israelis and wounded as least five others in two separate drive-by shootings. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.
- August 28, 2005: A suicide bombing outside the Central Bus Station in Beersheba severely injured two security guards. Islamic Jihad and Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.
- July 23, 2005: Two people were killed and three others wounded in a drive-by shooting near the Kissufim Crossing. Islamic Jihad and Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.
- June 24, 2005: Two teenagers were killed and three others wounded in a drive-by shooting near Hebron. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility.
- January 13, 2005: Six Israelis were killed and five other civilians were wounded in a double suicide bombing at the Karni Crossing. Hamas and the Fatah's Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
So, if both Fatah and Hamas hate us, and both Fatah and Hamas want to kill our people, and "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an Arab proverb, then why are they fighting in the streets? It seems strange to me. Pushing my suspicions to the limit, I came up with a theory.
What if Hamas and Fatah are playing a game of deception with the Israeli government? Perhaps, these fanatical and deadly terrorist organizations are smart enough and sophisticated enough to pull off a con I thought only small children, public servants and angry parents could pull off: "the good cop/bad cop" con. I know it seems too sophisticated for our enemies, but let's entertain the notion for a moment.
Perhaps, Hamas is the "bad cop" and Fatah is the "good cop." They decide to pit their foot-soldiers into a mild street battle that the foreign journalists bloat into an "impending civil war." Then, the Fatah and Hamas generals have a nice sip of tea and wait for the West to come charging in on their white horses to pressure Israel into supporting large money and arms transfers into Gaza. Then, the Hamas and Fatah generals laugh about how they have gotten Israel to agree to her own demise.
But then again, I'm probably wrong. It would be just too much for me to notice if Israel was the butt of some awful joke, right? After all, I'm not suspicious; it is simply too tedious.