3-May-11: In a world where you are either for terrorism or against it, Fatah decides

The caption from this 2006 USA Today photo says it depicts members (members?!)
of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades supporting Mahmoud Abbas in Nablus.
When Abbas' gunmen say they are broken up over the death of Osama Bin Laden,
they ought to be believed. And we ought to understand what that tells us
about Fatah and Abbas. 

Mahmoud Abbas, in addition to being the head of the Palestinian Authority, serves as chairman of the organization called Fatah, the largest of the numerous factions making up the PLO.

Fatah's military branch is the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Yesterday the Brigades published a statement responding to the untimely demise of the arch-terrorist and mass murderer Osama bin Laden.

His death, they say, was a "catastrophe", no less. His killers, the anti-terror forces of the US military, are "gangs of heretics."

For an ostensibly secular group, as distinct from the fanatically Islamist Hamas with whom they signed a co-operation agreement this morning, it's an interesting turn of phrase.

Palestinian Media Watch today quotes the Brigades unit of Fatah saying its "Jihad fighters will not be deterred in their path".

The announcement ends with this less-than-secular vow:

"We say to the American and Israeli occupier: the [Islamic] nation which produced leaders who changed the course of history through their Jihad... is capable of restoring the glory of Islam and the flag of Allah's oneness, Allah willing."

Hamas, a fully-paid-up member of the forces of Jihadist terror, is of course heart-broken at the death in Pakistan. The Guardian today quotes the Gazan jihadists praising Osama bin Laden as an "Arab holy warrior" and condemns his killing by American forces in Pakistan. Presumably editorializing more out of hope than expectation, The Guardian adds:

The comments expose a clear gap between Hamas and their Palestinian counterparts, Fatah, with whom they are due to sign a reconciliation pact this week in Cairo.

That pact, as we noted, is now reality. But a clear gap? Not so much.