It's Not Just Gaza Anymore

A Palestinian judge was killed in Gaza today.

A series of clashes among armed Palestinians from various factions has further destabilized the situation in the Palestinian areas on Tuesday night, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reports.

Palestinian judge, Bassam Al-Farra, was killed by unidentified armed men in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. A policeman was wounded as shots were fired at a police station in Ramallah. Gunfire was also heard near a station of the presidential guard, Force 17, in the city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank, and in Jenin, Hamas operative Ibrahim 'Sa'abna was wounded by gunshots fired at him while he was driving his car.

So along with near full scale civil war in Gaza, it appears the civil war is widening to the West Bank Territories.

The unity talks between Fatah and Hamas recently reached a deadlock. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud 'Abbas said Tuesday he would not hesitate to use his constitutional authority if talks failed. 'Abbas is expected to deliver a speech in the next few days, in which experts indicate he might decide to dissolve the government and the parliament and call for early elections.

No agreement on national unity? That appears to be an under statement.

It is possible that the "cease fire" with Israel was declared so that the Palestinians could turn their guns on each other.

The civil war may be the reason Israel turned a blind eye on the arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza. The Israelis may have expected the Palestinians to use the arms against each other.