June 14 - According to breaking new reports from Gaza, the escalation of infighting between Hamas and Fatah forces has reached a zenith, with Hamas claiming victory after conducting a series of execution style killings of Fatah members. Over 80 Palestinian terrorists have been killed in Hamas-Fatah factional fighting since Sunday. Hamas declared that it had taken control of the town of Rafiah in southern Gaza after blowing up the Fatah headquarters there. All of northern Gaza is already under Hamas control. According to an Arutz Sheva report of 6/14/07, "Fatah was beaten so badly that Egyptian reports said 40 PA officers broke through the Gaza-Egypt border fence and fled to Sinai for safety. The Hamas-affiliated Popular Resistance Committee announced Thursday that it had taken control of the border to prevent weapons smuggling (to Fatah) and mass emigration by local Gazans."

The report went on to say that; “hundreds of Fatah terrorists were seen surrendering to Hamas in Gaza Wednesday ahead of an ultimatum set by Hamas that ends Friday night. Hundreds of members of a mercenary local clan fighting for Fatah surrendered, ending a pitched two-day battle. The Bakr clan members were led to a local mosque. Hamas blew up one of the clan’s homes and women were shot dead when they tried to transport a sick girl to the hospital, according to PA reports. During a protest by hundreds of Gazans against infighting and for uniting to fight Israel, a man was killed when Hamas terrorists opened fire on the protesters. The protest, billed as "peaceful", was organized by Egyptian intelligence and attended by armed Islamic Jihad terrorists.”

On Thursday night, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the head of Fatah, announced that he is dissolving the government of the PA. By dismissing the PA's legislative head, Ismail Haniyeh, and other Hamas officials, Abbas formally ended the power-sharing agreement between Hamas and Fatah. The agreement had been in effect for just a few months and was marked by intermittent violence between the two groups from the start.

Media sources have speculated that the Hamas-Fatah civil war could spill over to the West Bank. According to an Arutz Sheva report of 6/14/07 it stated, "The Executive Committee of the PLO recommended that Abbas ask for international protection against Hamas. In Jenin, Fatah terrorists seized a Hamas school, hospital and offices on Wednesday, and 200 Fatah activists marched in Jenin streets and shot in the air, after having burned down a Hamas club center. Al-Aqsa Brigades terror chief Zakhariya Zubeidi announced a ban on all Hamas activity in the city until further notice. In Ramallah and nearby Bituniyah, Fatah is engaged in rounding up and arresting Hamas commanders from their homes. Hamas reported that armed Fatah men had kidnapped a Ramallah city councilman and burned his office. Two prominent Hamas officials in the araea were shot at in separate incidents, but no one was hurt in those attempts.

South of Ariel, in Salfit, Fatah men burned a Hamas office and raided other offices in the region. In Tul Karem, as well, east of Netanya, a Hamas office was shot at, and two Hamas cars were burnt. Fatah-Hamas gun battles were reported in Shechem and Bethlehem as well. With Fatah on the run in Gaza, it has now called on Hamas members in Judea and Samaria to renounce their allegiance to Hamas if they do not wish to be harmed. Fatah has begun mass-arrests of Hamas leaders, and Fatah chief Abu Mazen has reportedly ordered a counter-attack in Judea and Samaria."

It appears that the Hamas victory over Fatah forces in Gaza was due in no small measure to the extensive funding and support of the Iranian government. Iran has thrown its support behind Hamas in its quest to control Gaza. Meanwhile, back in Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called PA President Abbas and expressed her government’s support for the forces of Fatah, which she defined as "moderate." Hamas gunmen claimed to have found documents proving strong ties between Fatah and the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Spokesmen for Hamas said they would show the documents on local television on Thursday night.

While the bloody conflict between Hamas and Fatah continues, the Jerusalem Post reports that the US is more than willing to conduct direct negotiations with Iran if Iran agrees to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The report of June 12th states, "Washington remains interested in joining any direct nuclear talks with Iran if it heeds UN Security Council demands, a US envoy said Tuesday, even as Tehran warned that America will regret detaining five Iranian officials in Iraq."

Both political and military analysts have aired their views in the media and many blame the US for the current conflict by not recognizing and legitimizing Hamas when they won the PA elections in January of 2006. Others assign blame to the US for lending their support to Israel and for not being an "honest broker" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The bottom line is quite clear. The United States is flagrantly abrogating its own policy of isolating and punishing terrorists of all stripes. If the US can support an organization such as Fatah, which clearly and openly conducts terrorist operations against both Israel and its rival factions and has called for the annihilation of the State of Israel, then something is gravely amiss in US foreign policy as it pertains to the Middle East. If the US can seriously entertain the notion of conducting negotiations with the terrorist government of Iran who is bankrolling the arch terrorist group Hamas, (which is listed on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations) and who has called for the destruction of both Israel and America, then some re-evaluation of US policy is in order.

There is no doubt about it. The terrorists in the Middle East are winning the war on terror. Whether they are the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq or Hezbollah and Hamas in Israel, the forces of evil, death and destruction are prevailing. The United States has lost its credibility by not standing behind the bombastic rhetoric on how to succeed in the war on terror that once emanated from the Bush administration.

The forces of terror have brought the giant to its knees. The world’s great superpower, the United States now stands in a position to negotiate with those who make no secret about calling for it’s destruction.

And for the Jewish people and the land of Israel? With Hamas clearly in power in both northern and southern Gaza, we can expect that the amount of Kassam rockets directed at Sderot and other Jewish communities in the western Negev to continue unabated. We can expect more attempted kidnappings of Israeli soldiers and the wanton murder of Israeli civilians. Was it only two years ago, back in the summer of 2005 that the Jewish people in Israel were promised peace on its southern border by evacuating the settlements of Gush Katif and handing over the land to the Palestinian Authority. The world watched as Israeli soldiers forcibly removed thousands of Jewish inhabitants of the Gush Katif region. Prosperous businesses, schools, homes, synagogues and yeshivas were burned to the ground in the name of "peace" with our "Arab neighbors".

"Let's give the Palestinians in Gaza their independence and full autonomy," the forces of "peace" declared. They insisted in their arrogance that this move will insure peace in that region and will expedite the process of long term harmony between Israelis and Palestinians. So much for that fallacy and for those who peddled that canard.

Today we have witnessed the birth of a new Arab state. Today the world stayed glued to their television screens as they watched the launching of a new state in Gaza called "Hamastan". A state predicated on the most heinous forms of terrorism. A state that was conceived by those who promulgate bloodshed, torture, and capricious murder. A state that nurses on the mother’s milk of those who called for the eradication of Israel, and who, fueled by religious fanaticism and dogma will not rest until it achieves it ultimate goal.

This state of "Hamastan" was helped through the birth canal by a Jewish state that has lost its sense of purpose, vision and clarity. The state of "Hamastan" exists today because of empty and vapid Jewish leaders of Israel who did everything in their power, directly and indirectly to create this entity. And so today, if we see a multitude of Kassam rockets being launched by Hamas into Israel, rest assured that this will be nothing compared to what lies ahead. Let us not remain myopic in our perspective on the extent to which the Jewish State is in danger. Today, Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank has been transformed into "Fatahstan" as well. The violence is Gaza is just a harbinger of things to come in the liberated territories of Judea and Samaria. While the US may tout the line that Fatah is a "moderate" Palestinian force, we know the opposite to be true. Their rhetoric is on par with their rival Hamas as far as Israel is concerned and they make no bones about it. They too are terrorists of the worst kind and are dedicated to shedding the blood of all Jews. Their bloodlust is not more "moderate" than Hamas.

So there we have it. "Hamastan" and "Fatahstan". Two new terrorist Arab states, living side by side with Israel. Today, we must raise our voices to the heavens and cry out to the Almighty G-d of Israel. Today we must beseech the Master of the Universe to provide us with authentic Jewish leaders. Today the State of Israel and the Jewish people stand on a dangerous precipice. Life and death is before us. It is up to us to choose life. It is up to us to summon up the internal strength to rededicate our lives to G-d and to Torah. It is up to us to fear no man, no government, and no new Arab terrorist states. It is time to stand with strength and power in the face of adversity and destruction. It is time to fear only G-d and to offer our heartfelt prayers, for in the end, it is only through the hand of G-d that the Jewish people and the State of Israel will survive.