After Hamas’s bloody takeover of Gaza, the hope of a united Palestinian state appears more forlorn than ever. Matthew Fisher of the National Post, reporting from Nablus, West Bank, says that West Bank and Gaza were not a good fit from the outset. Gaza was always poorer than the West Bank, which has better land and more highly educated citizens. That’s not all.
West Bankers are also more pragmatic than Gazans. The reasons for this are many, but, it must be said, one of the factors has been that Palestinians in the West Bank are generally far less pious Muslims than Gazans.
. . .
Several Palestinians took me aside in Nablus’s crowded Old Quarter last week to whisper that they were overjoyed to finally be rid of the Gazans, with their harsh views on women, alcohol, Western education and culture, the Internet and so much else.
Palestinian leaders are unlikely to give up the dream of a united Palestinian state just yet, but it’s fading fast.
Another interesting tidbit mentioned by Mr Fisher: Some Israelis are now referring the West Bank as Fatahland and Gaza as Hamastan. Sounds about right.
I have not linked to Matthew Fisher’s report because I can’t find it at the National Post website. The article appeared on page A12 of today’s print edition, which is the source of the above block quote.
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