ANALYSIS / Gaza infighting could topple Israel-Hamas truce

Some of the Fatah loyalists who fled from the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority following Hamas' takeover in June 2007 described Saturday's events in the Shijaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City - four Hamas dead and 80 others injured - as "poetic justice."

Ahmed Khiles, a senior Fatah strongman in the Gaza Strip, who was quick to blame another Fatah strongman, Mohammed Dahlan and his men, for Hamas' violence in the Strip Saturday became the main target of the Islamist group. There is no particular reason for this turn of events, except that Khiles who had allied his clan with Hamas and was allowed to keep their arms is no longer perceived by Hamas as being useful.

The blast on the Gaza beach last week, which claimed the lives of members of Hamas and for which there is still no certainty that Fatah was responsible, gave the Islamic group an opportunity to target Khiles and try to expunge all Fatah presence in the Strip. But the recent Hamas attacks are not contributing to the group's popularity in the Gaza Strip.

The PA's efforts to arrest members of Hamas and other extremist Islamic groups continue in tandem. Mohammed Ghazal, a senior Hamas figure in the West Bank, was kidnapped by Fatah gunmen in Nablus. These actions also undermine the PA's image.

Many Palestinian analysts say that since the tahadiyeh, the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic organization has gained popularity in the West Bank, even though its standing in the Gaza Strip has suffered a blow.

Hamas is perceived in the West Bank as having succeeded to force Israel into a deal on its own terms at a time when Mahmoud Abbas and the PA have been unable to deliver an agreement with Israel.

Fatah remains dysfunctional and corrupt, while Hamas is seen as the reasonable option.

However, at this stage Hamas lacks the necessary military infrastructure in the West Bank to threaten the PA, mostly because of the efforts of the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service. The arrests of Hamas operatives in the West Bank have undermined the PA further, because it is perceived to be a dictatorship.

On the other hand, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas is seen as a radical, oppressive and violent organization that uses force to eliminate political rivals.