In an editorial titled "Following [in] Afghanistan's Footsteps," published October 8, 2008 in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, editor-in-chief Tariq Al-Homayed warned that under Hamas's rule, Gaza was becoming like Afghanistan – a hotbed of poverty, violence and strife among armed factions. He called on the Arabs to take a firm stand against Hamas, saying that it was undermining the Palestinian cause and was also a real threat to Egypt.
Following are excerpts from the article, as it appeared in the English-language edition of the paper:
Gaza is Becoming Another Afghanistan – And "The First Casualty Will Be The Palestinians and Their Cause"
"The issuing of statements by new armed organizations that go by various names has become a familiar occurrence in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza strip, Hamas's stronghold. The common denominator [of] all these different groups is their possession of weapons, and their readiness to use them.
"The relative size of these groups is not important. What is important is the following: "Firstly, the rhetoric from these groups has intensified; [each] statement released is more [strident] than the one before. Secondly, the Gaza strip is following in the footsteps of Afghanistan [in terms of] the abundance of arms, poverty, and division between armed groups, [all of which] are more than prepared to fight, leading to even greater divisions.
"We have seen the group Jaysh Al-Umma (The Army of the Islamic Nation), which some claimed did not exist, even though Hamas arrested its leader Abu Hafs and then released him. We have seen a bloody conflict between the forces of Hamas and the Doghmush family, and today we see the [establishment of the] so-called Palestinian Hezbollah. Read more ...
Following are excerpts from the article, as it appeared in the English-language edition of the paper:
Gaza is Becoming Another Afghanistan – And "The First Casualty Will Be The Palestinians and Their Cause"
"The issuing of statements by new armed organizations that go by various names has become a familiar occurrence in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza strip, Hamas's stronghold. The common denominator [of] all these different groups is their possession of weapons, and their readiness to use them.
"The relative size of these groups is not important. What is important is the following: "Firstly, the rhetoric from these groups has intensified; [each] statement released is more [strident] than the one before. Secondly, the Gaza strip is following in the footsteps of Afghanistan [in terms of] the abundance of arms, poverty, and division between armed groups, [all of which] are more than prepared to fight, leading to even greater divisions.
"We have seen the group Jaysh Al-Umma (The Army of the Islamic Nation), which some claimed did not exist, even though Hamas arrested its leader Abu Hafs and then released him. We have seen a bloody conflict between the forces of Hamas and the Doghmush family, and today we see the [establishment of the] so-called Palestinian Hezbollah. Read more ...
Source: MEMRI
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