Hamas is itself divided

摘要

ALL is not well in the camp of Hamas, the Palestinians' Islamist faction that rules the Gaza Strip. No sooner had its leader in exile, Khaled Meshal (pictured above), declared his readiness for Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinians' more moderate Fatah faction, to relaunch negotiations with Israel, than one of Hamas's leaders in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, said Mr Abbas did not speak for the Palestinians: "Our programme is against negotiations in this way because they are a waste of time."