Fatahstan Falls

From Random Hipatia

The conventional Isreali and U.S. expectation was that Hamas would gain effective political control of the Gaza strip walled Ghetto, while Fatah would remain in control of the West Bank. This would create a permanent political division between the Palestinian populations, and make it much easier to continue the policy of divide and conquer, the results being a Palestinian ghetto in Gaza “Hamasistan”, and a politically isolated West Bank “Fatahstan”, physically separated and economically removed from Isreal by the wall, and hence driven into ever deeper economic and social connections with Jordon. Division has always been central to the Isreali management of the Palestinian population, even going back to the original settlement blocks arranged prior to independence, and was expected to continue to remain so indefinately. At least that was the plan, I gather, until this past Wednesday.

The original Palestinian refugees came from the Isreali war for independence, in 1948. The Palestinian arabs who remained in Isreal became citzens. Those that fled the war seeking refuge, particularly to other arab nations, soon found themselves held in permanent camps, and used essentially as political pawns in the Isreal-Arab disputes to come. Egypt gained control of Gaza, and Jordon administration of the West Bank, but neither seemed to know what to do with the local Palestinian populations they now suddenly ruled over. Hence, even then, the Palestinian populations were in a kind of limbo, politically divided and weak.

However, the current issues remain entirely the consequence of the 6 day war, in 1967. Having found itself occupying Gaza and the west bank, Isreal almost immediately proclaimed the birth of “greater Isreal”, opening the new lands for immediate settlement. But, how to politically annax these new lands? This presented an immediate problem. While the Palestinians who remained in Isreal after 1948 became citizens, offering citizenship to this additional population would destroy the racial and religous “purity” of a democratic Isreal by creating an arab/islamic majority.

In the early 70’s, people like Sharon openly adovated driving the local Palestinian population out entirely. Meanwhile, Isreal tried to pack the new territory with settlers, as many as could be found and encouraged to come, particularly in the west bank, where Isreal felt it’s desires for “greater isreal” deepest. Like the Egyptians, they seemed to have little direct interest in Gaza beyond keeping it isolated.

However, there was never enough settlers to make a Jewish majority West Bank, and never could be. Given that direct annexation was impossible, an alternative strategy seems to emerge, in creating settlement blocks that would be used to further subdivide the west bank itself into separate Palestinian ghettos, as well as keeping the West Bank separated from the Gaza strip in it’s own ghetto.

Political realities, and lack of sufficient settlers, eventually made even this idea, of ghetto’d west bank palestinian populations, difficult to create. However, Isreal was always able to confort itself with the continued disunity of Palestinian populations resulting from the continued separation of the Gaza strip from the West Bank. This process was to be in effect formalized in the elections, where each was expected to form separate political identities. Never have the Palestinians been truelly united, and there was no expectation this would happen now. Unfortunately for the Isreali’s, the Palestinians choose Hamasistan over continued division and political disunity.