By William Markiewicz
The current violence in Gaza between Al Fatah and Hamas and in Lebanon between the army and the Islamists has politicians and the media in the West concluding that we witness a fight for power. I think that the matter transcends personal and political ambitions and the principal question boils down to not 'what do they want' but 'who they are.' In the Levant we witness at present the struggle between Western inspired secular democracy and local religious fundamentalism. If, in Turkey, the secularists have freedom to demonstrate their orientation, in Palestine and in Lebanon the secularists must confront the powerful, well organized fundamentalism that triumphs at present in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nota bene, Saddam Hussein's Iraq was secular until the West invaded Central Asia and gave a powerful boost to a blend of nationalism reinforced by religious fervor.
In Palestine, Israel is again losing the opportunity to advance peace in the region. Al Fatah refuses religious dictatorship and is ready to negotiate with Israel. Israel could grab the opportunity, offer to Al Fatah what they want, meaning an honourable peace, and with this Israeli gesture, nationalistic and religious Hamas would lose all the influence it enjoys now among the local Arabs. There would be, simultaneously, peace with Israel and an end of civil war among the Palestinian Arabs. The problem is that Israel, supported by the Bush regime, has developed its own blend of religious nationalism. Israel, refusing to see that Bush is losing popularity in his own country, behaves like a polar bear who pins all his chances of survival on one piece of melting ice. Secular Palestine will be a natural ally of secular Israel in a region boiling with religious passions. Leaving to Syria that which belongs to it -- meaning the Golan Heights - eliminating illegal settlements in the West Bank and declaring support and sympathy for secular Al Fatah will be salutary for Israel, Palestine and the neighbours.
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William Markiewicz