Fatah and Hamas representatives reached a deal for national reconciliation. Many people are saying that the unity deal means Israel has a legitimate partner to negotiate peace.
Take the following quiz and see how well-informed you are about Hamas and Fatah coming together.
1) After Fatah and Hamas announced their unity deal, their first joint public meeting in Gaza was held in:
a. a neutral conference hall
b. a Fatah office
c. a Hamas office
d. a Palestinian Islamic Jihad office
Answer: Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It — along with other groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — signed on to the deal. Of all the smaller factions, the PIJ’s especially galling: It once described Daniel Wultz as “the ideal target” because he was a Jewish American teenager injured in a PIJ suicide bombing. Wultz eventually died of his injuries and was eulogized in Congress.
These are the Palestinians we should praise for reconciling?
2) Fatah and its militia, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade:
a. say they want peace
b. say they want violence
c. offer separate messages to English and Arab audiences
Answer: Offer separate messages. No surprise there. Yasser Arafat frequently talked peace in English and talked jihad in Arabic, elevating doublespeak to an art form. (UPDATE 5:00 pm: Having been caught, Maan News corrected its translation while the Brigades deny the statement Maan’s apologizing for!)
3) Which movement’s charter specifically identifies itself as a Palestinian “wing” of the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood, itself a designated terror organization?
a. Fatah
b. Hamas
c. Palestine Forum
d. PFLP
Answer: Hamas. Come to think of it, the PLO charter may need tweeking too, depending on who you ask.
4) Which Mideast statesman’s doctoral thesis denying the Holocaust is widely taught in public schools today?
a. Bashar Assad
b. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
c. Mahmoud Abbas
d. Tayyip Recep Erdogan
Answer: Mahmoud Abbas. Just three days ago, David Bedein said:
. . . with the sanction of both the Palestinian school system, and the head of the Palestinian Authority himself, a new generation of. Palestinian pupils learn that the mass murder of Jews in World War II was carried out by Jews.
5) According to recent polls, who continues to give Osama Bin Laden the highest popularity ratings?
a. Pakistanis
b. Indonesians
c. Palestinians
d. Algerians
Answer: Palestinians. Indeed, 34 percent of Palestinians polled said they had confidence in Bin Laden to do the right thing in world affairs. Muslims in no other country were as supportive.
Which leaves one question hanging.
Who is Israel supposed to make peace with?
This is clearly a hot topic. 5 Myths of Palestinian Unity is already my most-read post of the year.
