Fatah–Hamas conflict

Fatah is the largest party of the PLO. It's lead by Mahamoud Abbas, formerly Arafat. It used to be militant, but is now fairly moderate.

Hamas is a much more militant group, and labeled a terrorist organization by much if the western world.

Fatah used to represent all of Palestine, but Hammas won Gaza Strip elections in '06. The divide hasn't been good for Palestinian statehood.

Abbas took it to the UN a little while back, but since hasn't really done a lot and is perceived as somewhat weak. Israel is slowly encroaching in on the West Bank with settlement expansions, but the peace and foreign investment has been good (or at least better) for them.

The West Bank has taken a militant approach resulting in bombardments back and forth and drastically reduced quality of life for Gaza residents.

Obama has a somewhat icy relationship with the Israeli PM. He's perceived as being a bit more balanced about it than previous American presidents, but it's somewhat moot at the moment as the Palestinians have less coherent leadership and the Israelis have no reason to believe in land-for-peace or acceptance by their neighbors.

Better cooperation between Fatah and Hammas may correct the Palestinian leadership problem, but it'll take time before it changes the above.

The 'right to return' thing is a non-starter for negotiating with Israel, and they're skeptical about sovereignty/land for statehood claims from Palestine - as granting the territories more self governance and autonomy only resulted in more violence.

It's interesting (and good) that a government official said this. One of the easiest ways to keep your voters happy is by blaming and vilifying someone else (see just about every totalitarian government in history).

Fatah is the largest party of the PLO. It's lead by Mahamoud Abbas, formerly Arafat. It used to be militant, but is now fairly moderate.

Hamas is a much more militant group, and labeled a terrorist organization by much if the western world.

Fatah used to represent all of Palestine, but Hammas won Gaza Strip elections in '06. The divide hasn't been good for Palestinian statehood.

Abbas took it to the UN a little while back, but since hasn't really done a lot and is perceived as somewhat weak. Israel is slowly encroaching in on the West Bank with settlement expansions, but the peace and foreign investment has been good (or at least better) for them.

The West Bank has taken a militant approach resulting in bombardments back and forth and drastically reduced quality of life for Gaza residents.

Obama has a somewhat icy relationship with the Israeli PM. He's perceived as being a bit more balanced about it than previous American presidents, but it's somewhat moot at the moment as the Palestinians have less coherent leadership and the Israelis have no reason to believe in land-for-peace or acceptance by their neighbors.

Better cooperation between Fatah and Hammas may correct the Palestinian leadership problem, but it'll take time before it changes the above.

The 'right to return' thing is a non-starter for negotiating with Israel, and they're skeptical about sovereignty/land for statehood claims from Palestine - as granting the territories more self governance and autonomy only resulted in more violence.

Do you have any stories of personal encounters with Israeli military personnel?