Report: Hamas admits losing control in Gaza

[oberliner]

Gaza in anarchy as extremist groups challenge Hamas regime, military chief tells Damascus leader.

In a letter to Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal, the group's senior military commander has admitted losing control in Gaza, the Arabic-language newspaper A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported on Saturday.

According to the London-based newspaper, quoted by Army Radio, Ahmed Jabri sent an urgent dispatch to the Damascus-based Meshal, warning him that the security situation in Gaza is "deteriorating".

"Recently a series of explosions has raised fears in Gaza," Jabri wrote. Gaza had descended into "anarchy", he said.

In the letter, Jabri reportedly admitted to a string of errors in governing the strip, where Islamist Hamas seized control in a bloody confrontation with its rival secular movement, Fatah, in the summer of 2007.

Hamas is convinced that extremist 'jihadi' Islamist movements are behind the bombings, which could mark the start of a push to oust the de facto government, the newspaper said.

Other Palestinian sources told As-Sharq Al-Awsat the attacks were the result of internal strife within Hamas, however.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154428.html

[LeftishBrit]

1. I think this has been the case for a long time.

Interesting that they're admitting it, though.

[Ken Burch]

2. And remember how the Israeli government insisted that the key to peace

was GETTING Hamas to lose control of Gaza?

THAT worked out well, didn't it?