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A crowd of Hamas supporters (photo: Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff September 4, 2007 |
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Defense officials reported that Hamas is equally as strong as Fatah in the West Bank and poses a grave threat to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' position in the region, the Jerusalem Post reported. Terrorists in Judea and Samaria reportedly possess over 80,000 illegal weapons.
The London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported Monday that Fatah security forces had recently thwarted an attempted coup in the PA by Hamas, in an ongoing struggle for control of the West Bank.
Hamas had previously attempted to establish a military force in the West Bank similar to its Executive Force in the Gaza Strip, with reported plans to attack PA institutions and take over the government.
Despite Fatah's numerical and organizational superiority, defense officials stress that Hamas is far more driven -- a characteristic that could undermine Fatah's strength in numbers. Fatah had four more times the men than Hamas when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup in June.
"They have weapons and explosives and, more importantly, they are highly motivated," a senior defense official said. "It is not about manpower," he added, "but about motivating the Fatah forces to want to fight and defend the PA."
Another official added: "The security forces need to feel that they have a reason to fight. They need to feel like they have a better life to look forward to. Otherwise, they will not pose a challenge to Hamas."
Hamas is now aiming its efforts at infiltrating its men into the ranks of PA security branches - the Palestinian Police and the National Security Force. According to the official, Hamas is currently in a "waiting period" and is working towards uniting some of its splinter groups spread throughout the various West Bank cities, with terrorist hubs in the northern Samaria cities of Nablus and Jenin.
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