Unless Fatah gets its act together, it will eventually be defeated in the West Bank as it was in Gaza. The international aid that is going to Salaam Fayad’s government is actually going to the ailing Fatah faction. The money will buy Fatah some calm for the short term, because the majority of the Palestinian civil servants haven’t received full salaries for the past 18 months. But in the long term, Fatah needs to do much more than pay salaries. It needs to get rid of all its corrupt leaders and the armed thugs on the streets. In short, it needs to offer the Palestinians a better alternative to Hamas.

Supporting moderate and pragmatic Palestinians is a good idea. However, unconditional support has already proven to be a big mistake. Those who receive the money must be held accountable. They should be required to end the anarchy and lawlessness in the West Bank as a condition for receiving money and weapons. Otherwise, the money and weapons will eventually fall into the hands of Hamas, as was the case in Gaza. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1182409609615&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull