With relations between Fatah and Hamas deteriorating even further, nothing short of a regional caesura appears able to dislodge the deadlock at the heart of Palestinian politics, writes Saleh Al-Naami Terror was plain on the faces of those who ventured outside their homes after hearing a massive explosion that took place in the vicinity of a nearby orange grove. At first the locals hadn't rushed out, thinking that a shell had been fired in an Israeli raid, but when the roar of tanks never materialised they realised that the explosion bore no relation to the Israelis. Instead, the residents of Beni Suheila, a town located east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, were shocked to find at the explosion site the body of a young man blown to pieces, and another injured with moderate wounds. After transporting the injured youth to receive treatment, interrogation revealed that the two were members of the Salam Fayyad, Fatah-dominated, Ramallah-based government security agencies that had stopped functioning when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. The injured youth said that he and his colleague had been trying to make an explosive for use in blowing up a police station of the Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas-run, Gaza-based government. This incident later led to the discovery of a number of security cells working for the Fayyad government, some of which collect intelligence that is sent to Ramallah, from where the government in turn sends it on to the Israeli army. The Haniyeh government's Interior Ministry says that interrogations with cell members have revealed that they had been instructed to collect information on Hamas political leaders and the homes of resistance fighters. A security source in Gaza told Al-Ahram Weekly that the Fayyad government was cooperating with Israel in forming a new database to support future military operations that Israel may conduct in the Gaza Strip. This source says that the arrested individuals were charged with spreading rumours and chaos, carrying out attacks, and planting fear and concerns for personal safety among citizens. Prominent Hamas leader Salah Al-Burdweil says the arrests bear no relation to tensions with Fatah following the Fayyad government security agencies' killing of Hamas members in the West Bank last week. Attempts to tie the incidents are "a major mistake that aims to cover up the double crime". By "double crime" Al-Burdweil means that while West Bank security agencies were targeting leaders of the Hamas military wing, the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, other security staff on the Ramallah government's payroll were busy preparing crimes targeting the resistance and innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip. When Israel ran out of targets during its last war on the Gaza Strip, Al-Burdweil says, it began creating a new list in coordination with the Ramallah government. Fatah cells have been working to build a database of targets that Israel can use, with the aid of detailed maps, when it next strikes at the Gaza Strip. Al-Burdweil says that cell members were asked to determine targets with Google Earth, and that the maps created by them have been seized. Hamas representatives gave the Egyptian government detailed information about these cells during the last dialogue round. Al-Burdweil denies the existence of Hamas sleeping cells in the West Bank that aim to repeat what has taken place in the Gaza Strip. Such claims, he argues, are examples of the Palestinian Authority (PA) trying to "cover up the crime it committed in Qalqilya", underlining that those targeted in the West Bank were resistance fighters long sought out by the occupation army and intelligence. Al-Burdweil also says that the Qalqilya events show how wide the gap is between the two sides, and indicates the lack of any common denominators for them to build upon. PA leaders "destroyed the last of the common denominators when they considered protection of the occupation's security a priority, and when they turned into agents of the occupation acting on the basis of the resistance being a form of sabotage," he says. Fatah spokesperson Fahmi Al-Zaarir rejects Hamas's accusations and considers them as targeting the "national and cultural position of the Palestinian cause". In a statement to the Weekly, he described Hamas's actions in the Gaza Strip as a "random arrest campaign" of Fatah members and part of a larger plan Hamas has been busily working on for a long time. Al-Zaarir attributes the Hamas security campaign in Gaza to internal disputes in the movement's leadership cadre. Meanwhile, three Palestinian factions are discussing the formation of an independent investigation committee to look into the Qalqilya events of last week that resulted in the killing of four members of the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades and four members of the Fayyad government security forces. The Weekly has learnt that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Islamic Jihad have held meetings with Fatah and Hamas representatives in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with the goal of containing the ramifications of the Qalqilya events and forming an investigation committee charged with determining what took place, why, who was responsible, and how to prevent its reoccurrence. The Weekly has also learnt that Egyptian intelligence has informed Palestinian faction representatives that it will send a security delegation to the Gaza Strip with the goal of mediating between Fatah and Hamas on the dialogue, and between Hamas and Israel with regard to captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Informed Palestinian sources have confirmed that a high-ranking officer will lead the delegation that will remain in Gaza until a final agreement is reached. Actually, Cairo has already started to separate communications with the leaders of Fatah and Hamas, which have increased since the Qalqilya events. Communications between Egyptian officials and factional representatives have indicated Cairo's determination to reach a Palestinian agreement by July. Yet sources warn of the consequences of Cairo's insistence on setting a deadline for wrapping up the national dialogue given the immense gap between the positions of Fatah and Hamas on their primary issues of dispute, particularly the future of the security agencies, the next government's programme, and the electoral system. Ahmed Qurei, head of the Fatah delegation to national talks, reiterated that Egypt and Arab countries are set on having an agreement signed between different Palestinian factions by 7 July. Reportedly Omar Suleiman, head of Egyptian General Intelligence, insists that a deal be imposed in the case that the parties fail to reach a deal themselves. Suleiman, some Fatah officials confirm, said that Egypt was to decide its own mechanism after the meeting that took place between Suleiman and Khaled Meshaal, Hamas head, Tuesday. Meshaal is to deliver an important speech after his visit to Cairo in which he is expected to announce the position of his movement on all topics. This should be Hamas's final say in light of the Egyptian deadline. In the meantime, Palestinian sources ruled out any possibility of a breakthrough. Sources asserted that none of the Palestinian factions have changed their declared positions since the fifth round of talks a month ago. Moreover, Palestinian factions have informed Egyptian representatives of their refusal of the deadline as well as the Egyptian vision. But complications in the Palestinian arena go further than the conflict between Fatah and Hamas. There are indications that the Israeli government led by Binyamin Netanyahu is planning another military confrontation with Hamas over the case of Shalit. Last Monday's issue of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted that Netanyahu's appointment of a new official to the Shalit case is a sign that Israel is considering military action to free him. The paper's military commentator, Amir Oren, wrote that the selection of former Mossad chief General Hegai Haddas for this post reflects Netanyahu's wish to maintain the military option as a possible means of resolving the case. Oren reported Haddas as saying that the liberation of Shalit would require a long and exhausting war of minds, in a reference to the necessity of intensifying intelligence and military activity in order to secure his release. Oren suggests that both Netanyahu and Haddas believe that reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with Arab and Palestinian resistance movements would be considered bowing to "terrorism". Netanyahu's inclination to not invest much effort in negotiating over Shalit is strengthened by the fact that Haddas is not fluent in Arabic like predecessor Ofer Dekal, who resigned when Netanyahu came to power. Haddas has been responsible for most of the secret operations that Mossad and the Israeli army have undertaken, and Haddas was the mastermind behind the failed assassination attempt on Hamas politburo head Khaled Meshaal in Amman in the summer of 1997. Haddas was also deputy commander of the Special Paramilitary Unit and took part in many of its operations. He further oversaw many secret operations conducted during the term of Defence Minister Ehud Barak when he was head of military intelligence and the chief of general staff. The Palestinian situation remains extremely complicated and if the situation between Fatah and Hamas remains unresolved it will grow more complicated still. In that case, only a major regional development will break the present deadlock.
