A Palestinian Coalition

It was announced on Wednesday that the Palestinian groups Hamas and the Fatah (formerly known as the PLO) have finally formed a coalition. Hamas and Fatah have been in-fighting for years, causing their own civil war. This has caused a huge stir here in Israel.

Hamas traces its beginnings in 1987 in Gaza. Its declared doctrine is “Allah is its goal, the Prophet is its model, the Koran is its institution, jihad is its path, and death for the sake of Allah is its coveted desire”. No messing about then.

It does not recognise the right for a Jewish state and views Israel as a democracy which means that any Israeli target as a legitimate one – thus explaining its recent missile attack on an Israeli school bus.It was democratically elected in both Gaza and the West Bank in 2006, winning 76 out of the 132 parliamentary seats, in contrast to Fatah’s 45.

Where does this leave Israel? Speak to even the most liberal of Israelis and they fear the worst.