Abbas' West Bank Rule an Optical Illusion
Amir Rappaport Maariv-Hebrew, 30Nov07
[Translation and summary by Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Daily
Alert - December 4, 2007]

Israel's security services believe that if they were not making arrests in
the West Bank every night, it is quite probable that Hamas would overcome
Fatah there as it did so easily in Gaza. In practical terms, this means
that, to a great extent, Fatah control in the West Bank is an optical
illusion. Israel's security services are concerned at clear signs of Hamas
strengthening in the West Bank. Even in the Fatah stronghold of "secular"
Ramallah, the number of mosques has doubled in recent years as the number of
worshippers has increased. At the same time, Israel has been unable to block
the large flow of Hamas money to its welfare institutions, which function
much better than the failed PA institutions.

Hamas is building up its military capabilities in the West Bank. Its forces
are training and building bunkers in cities like Nablus and Kalkilya, while
its activists plan attacks on Israeli civilian targets. Given this reality,
is there any point in conducting negotiations with the heads of Fatah when
the issue being discussed is the transfer of land that Fatah is unable to
control without the continued presence of the IDF and the Israel Security
Agency (Shabak). Of additional concern are the thousands of rifles and
millions of bullets that were brought in from Jordan for the Palestinian
police. In recent years, due to intensive IDF activity against weapons
smuggling, the price of a bullet had risen to tens of shekels. It has now
fallen drastically as ammunition from PA police warehouses finds its way
into the hands of terrorists.