Things get worse in Gaza

The Palestinian territory of Gaza, which has been a big, giant, violent mess since the Israelis evacuated it in Sept 2005, is currently witnessing what may very well be the beginning of the Palestinian Civil War.

Fatah and Hamas, the two leading Palestinian political factions, have been killing each other for some time now, but things have really spun out of control in the past few days. Today's news includes RPG attacks on the Hamas Prime Minister's home, shootouts in hospitals, and kindergarten classes caught in crossfire.

Oh, these guys are ready for a state of their own. Aren't they? The Family of Nations would be enriched by the presence of the Palestinians.

Israelis are watching this Wide World of Death with mixed emotions, no doubt. As we've said before, every bullet, grenade, mortar shell, etc used on a fellow Palestinian is one less shot, thrown, launched, etc at an Israeli. On the other hand:

1. What's left of the best and brightest of the Palestinian population is getting massacred. While the Palestinian birth-rate ensures there will always be a steady supply of cannon fodder, there's no question the gene pool is getting culled in a big way. Who survives this much violence? Only the most violent. All that's left is the thugs and the regular people. The gifted leaders (if there ever were any) who haven't been zapped by an IAF Hellfire missile are taking an AK-47 round in the melon from their next door neighbor.
   


2. If this turns into the long-anticipated fight to the finish, whoever emerges as the winner will be far stronger and in a far more secure position than now. It's difficult to imagine the rest of the world standing around, permitting a "fight to the finish", especially if Fatah appears to be coming out on the short end, but I suspect the Israelis have already thought this through.
   


3. More violence means more kids desensitized to violence, and another generation of martyrs is made.
   


4. Chaos is unpredictable. If it gets really nasty, and (especially) if Fatah is getting creamed, does Egypt step in to enforce a truce? If Egypt sends troops, what does Iran do? If Iran does something, what do the Saudis do? And Gaza is how close to Tel Aviv? Oh, about 45 miles.
   

What's truly amazing to me is the full circle Fatah has travelled. Back in the day, Fatah was reviled as a vicious, uncrupulous, manipulative bunch of savages. Now, they're the voice of reason and probably the best hope for peace (or at least less violence). I guess in comparison to true evil (which is what I consider Hamas), even Yassir Arafat's cronies look OK.

I really want to blog about happy stuff. This crap is wearing me out.