This was always predictable. The Palestinian Islamist party-cum-militia Hamas (an Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement) was always going to come to the rescue for its secular rival Fatah.

Fatah is one of the oldest Palestinian organizations founded at some point in the 1950s (an exact date is not known given conflicting accounts by co-founders). Hamas is more recent and only came about in the late 1980s. But the latter rose to prominence in the wake of the former’s failure to deliver a state for the Palestinians and its wide-spread corruption. In the first elections to be held in the occupied Palestinian territories, Hamas won an unexpected victory in January 2006. Fatah (and the U.S. and Israel) resented Hamas’ victory: Fatah, because it removed the entitled party from power, and Israel/U.S. because Hamas refused to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. Thus the Palestinian Authority-led Hamas was internationally isolated by U.S./Israel. In May 2007, Palestinian civil war broke out as Hamas attacked and uprooted Fatah from Gaza in preemptive action against a planned Fatah (U.S. supported) coup.

Fatah went onto to then set up its own government-under-occupation in the West Bank, and the Palestinian movement for the first time in its history was divided between Hamas-led Gaza and Fatah-led West Bank. Author’s Note: the “leading” is all relative since both territories remain under brutal Israeli occupation in one form or another.

Fatah lose the ‘06 election, but in recent months had been regaining popularity as economic conditions improved in the West Bank while Gaza remained starved under an immoral and indiscriminate blockade. Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas was becoming confident in his leadership as the West Bank economy grew by 7%.

But then Goldstone happened: a UN report accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza - including the deliberate killing of civilians (over 900 Palestinian civilians were killed, of whom over 400 were children) - came up for a vote-of-recommendation to the Security Council at the UN Human Rights Council. Israel blackmailed Fatah - which now controls the Palestinian Authority - to not endorse the report to else face losing an Israeli permit for a second mobile-network in the West Bank. Fatah obeyed Israeli wishes.

This cause a justified uproar amongst Palestinians. It was offensive enough that Israel would dictate that Fatah turn an effective blind eye against Israeli war crimes, but when it was discovered that a main beneficiary of the new mobile network was going to be Abbas’ son Yasir Abbas; Palestinians were reminded of Fatah’s inability to deliver and its corruption while all the while Israel continued to kill and occupy Palestinians.

Abbas’ popularity immediately slipped, and he has since anounced that he will not seek reelection in the upcoming January 2010 elections. Fatah was in deep trouble of losing face again. But now Hamas - no doubt due to Egyptian (read American) pressure - has come to the rescue of Fatah:

“Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday to stop seeking compromise with Israel but offered him an olive branch, saying Palestinians must end their divisions.”

A unity government is needed between Palestinians. And Hamas needs to accept Israel’s presence and a two-state solution. But Hamas should enter a new government allowing criminal Fatah men to have their outrages whitewashed.