false Look pretty good so far, if a little dry. 0 2009-04-14T10:33:17-07:00 630031 100 2009-04-14T10:33:17-07:00 4 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 10:32:57 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 14:26:23 -0700 2009
While the mainstream media tells us that these two political entities exist within overall Palestine, Schanzer takes us behind the scenes of the background and origins of both Fatah and Hamas. He sharply illustrates that there is anything but unity between these two political factions in their common effort to produce an independent Palestinian state. The book is extremely well researched, using a large number of publicly available information sources, to weave a comprehensive tapestry of the story of the Palestinian “resistance”.

What becomes abundantly clear is that the violence between the Palestinians and Israel is a mirror to the violence between Hamas and Fatah, as each faction continues to vie for control over the Palestinian people, the hearts and minds (and money) of the world’s governments, and the spotlight in the international press. Schanzer also shines a light into the shadows and at the involvement of Al Queda, Hezbollah, and Iran in the affairs of Hamas in particular, and how or if they are able to influence Palestinian terrorism against Israel.

.....

This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of the Middle East and the fate of the Holy Land. Ultimately though, all the reader can do is “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and long for the days of Messiah, when the long, bloody conflict will finally come to an end.

My longer review can be found here: http://shema-yisrael.org/blogspot/2009/0...]]>