It is well known that Palestinian Fatah and Hamas not only do not have a good relationship, they hate each other. Just two years ago, Hamas staged a military takeover of Gaza. On that second anniversary, the Palestinian Authority’s TV station broadcast a public Fatah event. Present were senior Fatah leaders, who witnessed the intense vilification of Hamas in the TV broadcast.
The broadcast included display of a graphic video in which members of Hamas brutally beat a Fatah member in Gaza. The screams of the victim can be clearly heard in the video, as other Hamas onlookers called out “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Great).
Introducing the video to his viewing audience, the Fatah moderator said:
“Hamas’s name is written on every arm and leg which was crushed by their [Hamas’s] acts of terror.”
The hatred between the two groups, Hamas and Fatah, is very deep. The intense hatred and the hateful propaganda between them is typical of current Fatah – Hamas relations.
This overt animosity between the two groups has led to the arrest of many Hamas members by the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority.
Western observers, especially the media, are often fooled into believing that such arrests by Fatah are a sign the Palestinian Authority is fighting Palestinian terror. Some press even say Fatah is doing this on behalf of Israel. Such reporting is a mistake, and they do not understand the deep hatred between the two groups.
The video containing the graphic material was captured and displayed, but was eventually removed by Fatah.
This story was initially revealed by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, reporting for Palestinian Media Watch.