Friday July 29, 2011

I've Been Thinking:

Mohammed Dahlan crossed over into Jordan yesterday. He had returned to the West Bank on Friday and on Sunday his trial for corruption and murder began.

Dahlan was the fair haired boy of Fatah with some people assuming that it is he who would succeed Arafat or then Abbas. He was the most popular Arafat adviser in the Clinton White House. That has all come crashing down.

Dahlan was the Fatah presence in Gaza. His downfall came because he was not present when Hamas led the coup that ousted Fatah from Gaza.

It signaled the end of Dahlan's future in Fatah. He was blamed for the Hamas takeover and was purged from Fatah and charged with undermining the leadership and the Fatah movement. The PA arrested his body guards, confiscated his weapons, ammunition and three armored cars.

So Dahlan left.

He saw the writing on the wall and knowing what it meant - he escaped. Fleeing is a long and honored response to issues in the Middle East.

I am certain that Dahlan will pop up somewhere in a few months. He may even be the one to tell the real story about the inner circle of Fatah.

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