You just can't resist getting in a jab at Israel whenever you can, New York Times, can you. In an article about the possible motive of the person(s) responsible for today's assasination attempt on the Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza, right after a paragraph in which you state that the attack came "amid a tense standoff between the Ramallah-based government dominated by . . . Fatah . . . and Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for the last decade, you gratuitously interject with the observation that "Israel, with help from Egypt, has kept Gaza under a strict blockade for years, and conditions in Gaza have grown increasingly dire." What does that have to do with the price of hummus, let alone with the motive for the assassination attempt?
7
This incident illustrates why the so-called "Middle East peace process" has no current validity, and hasn't for some time. There simply cannot be a successful negotiation until the Palestinians have political unity. Yes, there are many other things blocking an agreement, but that is a fundamental one. Instead of getting into the middle of the Hamas/Palestinian Authority dispute, that UN coordinator Mr. Mladenov should tell the two sides to give him a call once they have worked out their difficulties and can speak with unified voice.
5
Gaza is waiting for a dedicated electricity line from Israel.
Has Hamas agreed to pay for it? Will Hamas return the bodies of Israeli soldiers and the Israeli hostages that they hold contrary to the Geneva Convention? Will Hamas start policing its people so that no further missiles are fired into Israel which would be considered acts of war in any other situation?
If the answers are yes, be ready for the rapid, reliable supply of electricity from Israel. If not, get your electricity form one of your Arab Brothers.
8
While Israeli national security officials sat around the same table on Tuesday morning in Cairo with their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, discussing a dire humanitarian situation unfolding in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians boycotted and remain more interested in assassinating their fellows. It is no surprise to anyone who follows these events closely that Israel is more interested in relieving the plight of Gaza’s residents than are the Palestinians' rulers who appear intent on perpetuating this crisis they manufactured by their misrule to retain their grip on power.
More to the point, I have yet to see any coverage in The NY Times of this unprecedented Israeli-Arab conference among adversary nations still technically at war. Perhaps an in-depth story is in the works. If that conference isn’t news worth reporting, as is currently the case, then the editors need to reconsider their definition of the word.
9
Who stood to gain by the assassination? Who loses by the failure?
This is an entirely Palestinian matter. This type of thing is common in government by terrorists.
The Israelis were busy with more important matters like saving the Netanyahu coalition.
7
"The Israelis were busy with more important matters like saving the Netanyahu coalition."
This type of thing is common in governments led by criminals.
2
Here's an article with at least six conspiracy theories and no evidence. I'm glad that the Times details the conspiracy theories, but in the aggregate they simply indicate that the Palestinians are incapable of self-government, for now. What surprising event, some time in the future, will awaken these intelligent, well-educated people to move forward to self-determination after so such tiresome posturing as victims?
10
Too many players and too many interests here to sort out just yet. It's a Byzantine place.
2
Hamas, Israel, Egypt, even Fatah. Could have been any of them. Another reason why the U.S. needs to get out of there.
3
Out of those you named, Israel and Egypt are not that inept.
9
The Arabs throughout the Middle East are skilled at killing each other and shooting themselves in their feet. Darwinian karma.
15
I feel sorry for the ORDINARY Palestinians. They've been led down a miserable and what looks like an interminable road to nowhere. They were better off under the Ottomans..
9
Have you read "Rise and Kill First" by Israeli journalist Ronen Begman? The answer of who may be behind this and similar recent attacks in Gaza may be in that book.
2
Apparently the work of Israel, sowing the seeds of discontent.
4
Gaza is a totally failed state. It should be split off as a separate entity. Perhaps the UN wishes to take over and install a mandate type of government, which we can call Mandated Palestine-Act 2. There is misery there, but not one of famine. Over population and a brutally selfish "government" by Hamas. Largely a self created disaster.
9
Really? Did Hamas impose the embargo on Gaza that's made life unbearable for its citizens?
6
Stu: you know the answer and it is a resounding yes. By attacking both Israel and Egypt, those two states imposed various embargoes on Gaza. While Israel allows food and medicine as well as water and electricity, Egypt’s is virtually total. Had Hamas governed Gaza for the benefit of its peoples’ welfare, the borders would have been open. By acting the losing role of a belligerent actor, they created the conditions for the embargo. This is not blaming the victim. It is simply identifying the responsible party.
10
@Charlie: Israel allows virtually nothing to enter Gaza and virtually no one to leave it. Hamas has killed a handful of Israelis with its rocket attacks. Israel has killed hundreds and hundreds, including lots of civilians. The precipitating event is Israel's refusal to entertain the notion of a Palestinian Arab state. Violence is the answer when people have nothing left but their hatred and sense of injustice.
1
It’s good that both the Hamas spokesman and the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister see this attack for what it obviously is, an effort to ensure that the tension between the PA and Hamas persists and that their halting, on-and-off attempts to achieve reconciliation continue to fail. Divide and conquer, as they say. The prime minister said “This will never prevent us from getting rid of the bitter division.” One hopes so, but time is running out for the Palestinians.
4
This is no surprise there has been tension with these countries for a while now and Afghan has 14% taken by terrorist now
The country known for targeted assassinations is precisely the government who would benefit from a fractured Palestine, Israel. So I put 2 +n2 together and come up with 4.
3
How shocking, the Palestinians using violence as a solution.
Can anybody remind me of some positive news about the Palestinians that was the result of their leaders?
32
I would hesitate to hang this on the Palestinians just yet.
3
Even with the ego maniac demagogue Trump, we can thank the founding fathers for creating and Lincoln for saving our type of gov't where this type of thing is not common place like it is in the Middle East.
Throw in abuse of religion and you get the horror story you have now and seemingly for eternity in that area.
6
As long as Hamas continues to waste resources on building military tunnels into Israel, there will be neither peace nor economic progress for the Palestinians living in Gaza. Their leadership is a corrupt cult that cares little for its people's suffering. They can't even live peacefully alongside with Egypt.
43
One has to ask: Who would benefit from a fractured Palestine?
14
this is not thought, just repetition
Your implication is both clear and naive. Hamas and the PA have been at one another since Hamas brutally ousted the PA from Gaza many years ago now. So who would benefit, certainly not the Palestinian people, but that not meant much to Hamas in the past.
12
The Israelis are too obvious....actually try these:
1. Jordan. They claim the west bank. Most of the residents carry Jordanian passports.. owe Jordanian taxes..
.
2. Egypt. They claim Gaza.
4