Failure to prepare made Fatah defeat inevitable

FATAH’S old demons — lack of leadership, petty quarrelling, corruption — have contributed to its dismal showing in the fight against Hamas in Gaza.

While the disciplined Hamas systematically built and hoarded weapons, Fatah failed to prepare in time for the inevitable showdown with the Islamic militants. In this week’s fighting, disorganised Fatah fighters were outgunned and overrun by the smaller Hamas.

Many angry West Bankers, watching the fall of Gaza on their TV screens, pinned the blame on Fatah’s leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, seen as far too indecisive and detached to lead a countercharge against Hamas.

On Wednesday, even as Hamas besieged his forces in Gaza, Abbas still tried to strike a neutral presidential pose, blaming both sides for the violence. A day later, as the Preventive Security headquarters in Gaza City came under heavy fire, he hesitated before sending his Presidential Guard as a backup; an hour later, Hamas captured the strategic compound.

“This wouldn’t have happened under Abu Ammar,” was a common living room lament — a reference to the wily Yasser Arafat, Fatah’s legendary founder.

When Hamas launched its assault on Fatah’s security compounds in Gaza this week, no prominent Fatah leader was in the coastal strip to take command.

Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who had been Fatah’s main hope for fending off Hamas, was on extended leave in Egypt for a knee injury, and even before then, had spent much of his time dabbling in West Bank politics. Fatah’s top security official for Gaza, Rashid Abu Shbak, moved to the West Bank last month after Hamas attacked his home in Gaza.

He joined one of Dahlan’s lieutenants, Samir Masharawi, who had already set up house in Ramallah several months earlier. The local Fatah chiefs left in Gaza didn’t have enough experience to fill the void.

The arsenals of Hamas and Fatah are difficult to assess because of the secrecy surrounding the arms buildup in Gaza. Both sides have been smuggling weapons through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, while Hamas, which is backed by Iran, also runs a flourishing homegrown weapons industry, producing mortars, rockets and grenades.

Fatah has more fighters, but Hamas gunmen are better trained. Hamas also gained a definite advantage by seizing weapons and ammunition from captured Fatah positions.

Yet in the end, it came down to mind-set, not hardware. “Hamas has leadership, a goal, an ideology and funding,” said Gaza analyst Talal Okal.

“Fatah has neither leadership, nor a goal, a vision or money.”