US Meddling Blamed for Gaza Crisis

"The less we try to intervene and shape Palestinian politics, the better off we will be," Robert Malley, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the International Crisis Group, told The Washington Post.

"Almost every decision the United States has made to interfere with Palestinian politics has boomeranged."

Almost three years ago following the death of veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, US President George W. Bush stood in the White House's Rose Garden and laid out his vision for the Palestinians and called for democratic elections for future leadership.

But democracy brought Hamas to power in a shock win to the US administration, Israel and the West, which all tried their best to marginalize Hamas and slapped a crippling economic boycott of its government.

Washington organized a financial boycott of the government, in an effort to showcase Abbas as a moderate alternative in his role as president.

Well-placed sources had further told Reuters that the US and EU backed the training of Fatah's troops in Jordan to reinforce Abbas in any showdown with Hamas.

More