Not only is the house divided - so is the school

One Palestinian university has decided to close to the doors to its’ hallowed halls of learning out of concern for the physical safety of the student body. Apparently, fractional in-fighting between the various and sundry other terror groups and Fatah has taken a decidedly bloody turn. The Jerusalem Post reports:

"We have decided to suspend studies and evacuate all students from the campus out of concern for their safety," said a spokesman for Bir Zeit University. He said the decision was made following an assault on one of the students late Monday. Students said four men from the PFLP attacked a Fatah student in the dorms, wounding him seriously. The assailants used charcoal to burn the student's face. They also hammered nails into the victim's feet, the students said.

According to the students, the decision to suspend studies came after Fatah gunmen appeared on campus and threatened to kill PFLP supporters. Earlier this week, scores of students from both parties clashed on campus, using clubs and stones. At least 10 students were wounded.

The tensions have also spread to Al-Quds University in Beit Jala, where supporters of the two parties were involved Tuesday in a brawl that also led to the suspension of studies. Sources in the university said the two sides had used knives and clubs, and some students claimed that shots had been fired during the melee.

Later in the day, clashes erupted between Fatah and PFLP supporters in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem. The camp has long been a traditional stronghold of the PFLP.

The problem with the Americans betting the proverbial farm on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' to carry the day and deliver Palestinian compliance on any given issue is that it is a fool’s bet. While Mahmoud Abbas struck the Americans as an imminently reasonable ‘moderate’ figure; he was also a deeply flawed choice. Abu Mazan never had a broad support base or inspired respect among the various Palestinian terror fractions. The real surprise wasn’t so much that Hamas rebelled against rule by Fatah in the Gaza Strip but that Hamas waited as long as it did to take control.