The borders of British Mandatory Palestine too were set, just like the case with its neighbors, on the basis of colonial interests. In many areas, the border was drawn in a rather random manner. Had it been performed a little differently, would the Arabs of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon become Palestinian? Would the Arabs of Tarshiha in the Galilee be Lebanese? Are residents of Trans-Jordan, which was initially part of Mandatory Palestine and a few years later became the Kingdom of Jordan, Palestinian or Jordanian?
During the less than 30 years of the existence of this Mandate, from which the Palestinians draw their name, no significant indications were to be found of a united national identity of their own. The leader of Mandate Arabs was the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, who viewed himself as a pan-Arabic leader, imposed his rule through the persecution and assassination of his rivals, and headed a loose alliance of clans, tribes, and local interests that were mostly united by hatred towards the Jews, and to a lesser extent towards the British.
And here's another very important question:
Hamas vs. Fatah: A curious ‘fight’
What if Hamas and Fatah are not really enemies?
Historical and Investigative Research - 30 June 2007
by Francisco Gil-White
excerpt:
How to interpret the supposed fight between Hamas and Al Fatah (also known as ‘the PLO’)?Food for thought, for sure.
The media has always represented Hamas and Fatah as great enemies, but this has always flown in the face of the facts (consider the love letter to the PLO contained in the Hamas Charter, at top). In the pages of the New York Times and other such publications Hamas and Fatah would snarl at each other but in the real world there was a dramatic contrast: leaders of Hamas would become leaders of Fatah and vice-versa, and they cooperated closely when it came to repressing the Arab civilian population of the West Bank and Gaza, and when it came to attacking Israel.[2]
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