Israel Trying to Pit Palestinians Against One Another

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying that his troops were ready to pull out of Gaza if Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan took responsibility for policing the territory and pledged to stop Hamas from using it to fire rockets into Israel, according to the AFP.

Observers believe that Mofaz's statement pursues two objectives: one, to project Tel Aviv as a peace-loving regime; and second, to pit Palestinians against Palestinians.

Mofaz said that the withdrawal of his troops was subject to the commitment of Dahlan to stop Hamas from using the said territories to fire rockets into Israel.

The policy of killing Palestinians by Palestinians has been followed by Israel since its inception. It got a momentum during the time of Benjamin Netanyahu and was vigorously followed by his successors.

Indeed the reason the United States and Israel tried to sideline Yasser Arafat and instead pin their hopes on Mahmoud Abbas as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority was his pledge to disarm the Palestinian armed groups.

A cycle of retaliatory violence erupted in the occupied territories when just shortly after the Aqaba international peace summit on June 4 Israel attacked the Palestinian leaders and houses and openly announced an all-out drive to crush Hamas.

The cycle of violence has left more than 60 people dead since then.

MS/SM

MNA