Customer Reviews

Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle For Palestine

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Schanzer's new book signals a new field of research namely the internicine fighting between Palestinians. It also sheds fresh light on the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

The book is written in a style that reflects scholarly research and ample end notes although it is easily read by those with a basic interest in the violence in the region.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is concerned about attacks on Israel, the prospects of peace between Palestinians and Israelis or those who want to learn more about recent history of this region.

I enjoyed reading this book, learned a fair bit, and left myself tags for reference back to it at later dates.

Well written, scary topic, but an important read.

Barack Obama should read this book. Also , Hillary Clinton. I would also recommend that Daniel Kurtzer, Dennis Ross, Richard Haas, Martin Indyk read it. In fact I would recommend that all those who have anything to do with the 'peace- process' between Israel and Palestinians read it. And this because it exposes the lie of a moderate Palestinian Fatah, truly ready for peace. And it makes clear just how filled with deceit and hatred Palestinian politics are.
In tracing the historical development of the rivalry and occasionally open physical conflict between the Fatah of Arafat and the Hamas of Sheik Yassin and Haniyeh Jonathan Schanzer gives a close- up look of where the mind and hearts of Palestianian leaders truly have been and are. He shows the process by which 'Hamas' has gradually gained power, replacing Fatah not only in Gaza but in the minds and hearts of the intellectuals of Palestinian society.
He too traces the connections of the Palestinians with other actors in both the Arabic and Islamic worlds. And he indicates the increasing role Iran is playing in the Palestinian story.
This is first- rate research, clearly written.
It also brings us pretty much up to date, and gives a strong sense of the internal Palestinian struggles at this moment.
A must read for anyone who would understand the Middle East today.

Based on public sources the author explains in certain detail how and why there was a Hamas - Fatah clash. One of the more important aspects that said is that contrary to what it's argued in other writings such as Ross and Makovsky book, theirs was not a Hamas coup in Gaza. The author doesn't argue that otherwise he outline the process an escalation first with US backed Fatah policy under Clinton (and Ross in charge) of kidnappings and torture at the hands of Fatah against the Hamas members including the incarceration of its founder at the hands of Fatah in the nineties. Hamas then won and urged by the Bush administration Fatah refuse to handle control to the party that won. Until the vengeance cycle ended by those Hamas forces that has been arrested revolted against the Fatah security forces that they chase by name that has torture them in Gaza.

There is a strong bias in the book and it is evident in the author's treatment of Palestinians as savages and Israelis as compassionate peace-seeking peoples. Although there is an important aspect of Palestinian politics that is brought to light, the author oversimplifies many events and in turn appears to make Palestinian politics radical and promoting violence. If you want to get a better idea about Palestinian politics read Nathan Brown's book that even-handedly demonstrates the shortcomings of the PNA and in turn how this affected the Palestinian people. Palestinian politics is less democratic than the book suggests and hardly represents the entire Palestinian population.

As a beginning to a complex history this book does a decent job at describing the events that spawned violence between Hamas and Fatah but overall the tone is very anti-Palestinian and as a result I feel that any information provided is not entirely scholarly.