Hamas - a ‘paper tiger’?

Monday Jul 02 2007

Tensions between Hamas and Alan Johnston’s captors seem to be coming to a head. Early Monday morning Hamas nabbed Army of Islam spokesman Khattab al-Maqdissi

…A few hours later the Dagmush-controlled Army of Islam shot back, reportedly kidnapping 10 Hamas members, all students at the Islamic University in Gaza City. They warned they had damning video tapes that would bring shame to certain Hamas members. Hamas then announced it had begun arresting people responsible for kidnapping Johnston.

…The movement [Hamas] is being made to look like chumps by the Dagmush clan, which is undermining Hamas’ attempts to restore order in Gaza. If the Dagmush clan and the Army of Islam can stand up to Hamas with impunity, Hamas may start to look like something of a paper tiger to other Gaza clans, the last thing Hamas wants.

Also, The New York Times reports on Hamas against the Army of Islam, on the 11 Hamas members arrested in Jerusalem carrying Israeli ID cards, on the Israeli troops who shot and killed a leader of the city’s Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, on a new sentence for Israeli nuclear secrets spy Mordechai Vanunu and on the case of the disgraced former Israeli president, Moshe Katsav. A busy day.