Well, one only has to look at how the terrorist group, Hamas, has handled its rule over Gaza the past few years to see the definition of chaos but in the past couple of weeks, we have seen how blatant in-fighting has broken out among the leadership of Hamas. Here's some of the good news here at the Jerusalem Post:
And now, my favorite part of this article...the REAL story of the rift in Hamas leadership:
You know, I absolutely love this. Israel has been lucky lately...considering that they have had a tremendous vacuum in Israeli leadership now for many months, one would have considered this a prime time for its enemies to bring some attacks, but it just so happens at the same time, Hamas is going through this tug of war and in Lebanon, there have been many rumors that Hezbollah's leader, Nasrallah, has been teetering at the top as well.
Did I say "lucky?" Maybe it's the same reason why Israel is still standing after nearly every Arab and Persian country's intent has been to destroy them. That reason? Well, I refer to that as the Ultimate defense shield....one of "biblical" proportions.
During the past week, Hamas officials issued contradictory statements as to whether they would agree to the extension of the truce, which they refer to as a tahadiyeh (period of calm), sparking speculation about sharp differences among the movement's top brass.I love that last mention of how Mashaal is jealous of Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in Gaza - I wonder...has anyone mentioned to Mashaal that if he wasn't such a chicken shit yellow bellied coward hiding out like a wuss in Syria that he might get some more respect from his terrorist buddies in Gaza?
Sources close to Hamas admitted Wednesday that the dispute between the Hamas leaders was driven not only by personal jealousies, but also by differences of opinion over tactics and strategy.
The divisions surfaced earlier this week when Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, announced that his movement was not going to renew the cease-fire.
Mashaal's statement caught the Hamas leaders in Gaza by surprise. Many of them were quick to announce that Hamas still hadn't taken a final position on an extension of the truce. Some Hamas figures in the Strip said (in private) that the movement had no choice but to continue with the tahadiyeh, while others openly supported Mashaal's position.
"Mashaal can't tolerate the fact that other Hamas leaders are stealing the show," the sources said. "Ismail Haniyeh, for example, is much more popular among the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip than Mashaal. Look what happened this week when Haniyeh appeared before a crowd of more than 200,000 people. He was welcomed as the 'future president of Palestine.' Mashaal was hardly mentioned during the rally."
And now, my favorite part of this article...the REAL story of the rift in Hamas leadership:
The Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip is keen on renewing the truce for various reasons. One reason is that Haniyeh and Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar know very well that a military escalation would mean they would be the first to be targeted by Israel. The two are currently trying to convince Mashaal and the "outside" leadership of Hamas to accept their stance and to sign on to an agreement with Israel, even if that means that the border crossings would remain closed for now.
You know, I absolutely love this. Israel has been lucky lately...considering that they have had a tremendous vacuum in Israeli leadership now for many months, one would have considered this a prime time for its enemies to bring some attacks, but it just so happens at the same time, Hamas is going through this tug of war and in Lebanon, there have been many rumors that Hezbollah's leader, Nasrallah, has been teetering at the top as well.
Did I say "lucky?" Maybe it's the same reason why Israel is still standing after nearly every Arab and Persian country's intent has been to destroy them. That reason? Well, I refer to that as the Ultimate defense shield....one of "biblical" proportions.
Who is calling the shots in Hamas?
On Friday, Hamas is expected to announce its final position regarding the cease-fire with Israel that expires on the same day.
During the past week, Hamas officials issued contradictory statements as to whether they would agree to the extension of the truce, which they refer to as a tahadiyeh (period of calm), sparking speculation about sharp differences among the movement's top brass.
The reports about a split in Hamas coincided with the movement's celebration of its 21st anniversary - an event that saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians attend Hamas's main rally in Gaza City earlier this week.
Sources close to Hamas admitted Wednesday that the dispute between the Hamas leaders was driven not only by personal jealousies, but also by differences of opinion over tactics and strategy.
The sources revealed that "external powers" were also responsible for the bickering. These powers included Iran, Syria and Qatar - three countries that maintain good relations with Hamas.
The divisions surfaced earlier this week when Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, announced that his movement was not going to renew the cease-fire.
Mashaal's statement caught the Hamas leaders in Gaza by surprise. Many of them were quick to announce that Hamas still hadn't taken a final position on an extension of the truce. Some Hamas figures in the Strip said (in private) that the movement had no choice but to continue with the tahadiyeh, while others openly supported Mashaal's position.
The squabbling among Hamas's political leadership later reached the movement's armed group, Izzadin Kassam. Masked gunmen claiming to represent the armed wing held separate news conferences, where they, too, made conflicting statements on the cease-fire issue.
Some Palestinian analysts believe that Hamas is deliberately issuing contradictory statements in a ploy to pressure Israel and Egypt to reopen the border crossings to the Gaza Strip. Others, however, believe that the divisions in Hamas are genuine.
"Hamas will eventually accept the truce with Israel, but they want to gain something in return," said an analyst in Gaza City. "For now they are being vague about their position with the hope that they could extract concessions from both Israel and Egypt."
The analyst said Hamas had come under fire from many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the past six months of the cease-fire because they didn't feel that their lives had changed remarkably.
"As far as many Palestinians were concerned, Hamas did not get anything out of the cease-fire agreement," he added. "People criticized Hamas for making a deal with Israel without ensuring that the border crossings would be reopened and travel restrictions would be lifted."
Another analyst from the West Bank said Mashaal and the "outside" leadership of Hamas were under pressure from Iran and Syria not to renew the unwritten cease-fire agreement. He said the Iranians and Syrians were determined to deny Egypt the diplomatic victory it would gain by orchestrating another deal between Hamas and Israel.
Damascus and Teheran, the analyst continued, were also responsible for the failure of Cairo's efforts to convene a "national reconciliation" conference to solve the Fatah-Hamas dispute last month. The conference was called off at the last minute after Mashaal informed the Egyptians that he wasn't going to participate.
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