Oh, Now It's a Civil War

A Hamas fighter speaks on the phone as he sits inside the personal meeting hall of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after they captured his headquarters in Gaza June 15, 2007. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

So Hamas has run roughshod on Fatah, leaving a bloody trail and posing for Reuters photographers. Now, finally, they've come around to calling it a civil war.

GAZA (Reuters) - Western powers rallied behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday after Hamas Islamists routed his forces in the Gaza Strip and began imposing a new order in the enclave after days of bloody civil war.

Despite his mandate effectively being reduced to the West Bank, Abbas named a new prime minister after firing the Hamas-led government and declaring a state of emergency.

The United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia -- the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- gave a "clear message of support" to Abbas.

Why do we continue to waste our time?