12 years after Gaza pull-out: 'no life, no work, high unemployment'
Hamas marks 12 years since the Gaza Disengagement and its subsequent rise to power, stating their ‘resistance’ to Israel remains the best solution; despite egregious humanitarian crisis in the strip and inhabitants' disillusionment with Hamas, Gazans face much of the same.
Marking the 12th anniversary of Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced that resistance against Israel remains the best plan and shortest path for the Palestinian people to "freedom and a better life."
Since Hamas took control of the enclave, the Palestinians living there have been forced to contend with daily hardships brought on partially by the terror organization's apparent refusal to dedicate resources to building economic infrastructure, instead diverting them toward sinister projects designed to wage its so-called wars of resistance against Israel.
With the passage of time, Gazans have begun noticing the failures which have plagued their everyday lives, characterized by lack of jobs, freedom and electricity.
Yet despite the palpabale frustration, most recently manifested by the strip's electricity crises, the organization wrote in its latest statement that "the way of negotiations proved to be a failure and has become an additional burden on the shoulders of the Palestinian people.
"The Oslo Accords, Cairo, Wye and Taba, did not succeed in removing even one of the settlements, which serve as a symbol of the Zionist plan."
Hamas demanded that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ceases security coordination with Israel in the West Bank and stops sanctioning the Gaza Strip.
Hamas also stressed its opposition to the blockade of the Gaza Strip and called on the international community "to give justice to the Palestinian people who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for their freedom."
The organization then stressed its adherence to the option of resistance and called on all Palestinian factions to unite around this option.
Meanwhile, the general public in Gaza is playing a different tune—one kept silent by Hamas's draconian rule.
"The situation is bad. Arik (Ariel) Sharon decided to hand over Gaza (to us—ed), but the Israeli government blockaded the strip and turned it into the largest prison in the world, with two million inhabitants," said Sammy Obeid, a Gaza journalist.
"The government of Israel says that 'Hamas is our great enemy, so all the residents of Gaza are enemies; we will lock Gaza out and throw away the key,'" Obeid said."In Gaza now there is no life, no work, and unemployment is at 80-90 percent."
When asked whether he thinks Israel or Hamas is guilty of Gaza's current situation, Obeid dismissed the question.
"Everyone always says about the other that he's 'guilty', but there are agreements between the PA and Israel," he said, noting their cooperation despite their disagreements and accusations.
"The residents have no money and nothing to buy. They (both Israel and Hamas) have turned Gaza into a living hell," he added. "This is because of the conduct of the Israeli government and the pressure that the Israeli government is putting on the strip (while lumping its inhabitants with Hamas). Gaza is not (filled with) Hamas; Gaza is (filled with) two million Palestinians who are living under a blockade.
"Hamas is dictatorial. They refuse to leave the government, while the rest of us suffer."
Obeid also noted that Gazans do not miss the period preceding the disengagement.
"Gaza has two possible solutions: Either annex it to Israel, or give it a seaport and an airport ... At the moment, everyone is suffering, everyone is looking at the sky for a miracle to come from God that will liberate them, just as the Jews prayed for God to free them from Hitler.
"The situation is terrible. You can clearly see tremendous suffering, 40 percent of Gazans have no money, and live on barely a meal a day," he said. "People ask me what can be done. I tell them, 'You have one choice. Everyone needs to take their children, reach the security fence between Israel and Gaza and try to cross it. Maybe the soldiers will kill them, but maybe they'll be able to get in and get permission to live.'
"We supported Hamas, and we made a mistake. Now we apologize for the mistake, but Hamas settled down and does not intend to leave."
