About Gaza and Hamas

This will be my last post for the next four or five days. I am sitting in CPT's flat right now in Yatta, which is just north of At Tuwani. Team members often come here to get reports out, take a shower, and use the Internet. I'll stay here tonight and head to the village tomorrow morning. I'm getting very excited to see the villagers again and see how much the kids have grown over the past year.

Many of you have asked about the Hamas takeover of Gaza and how that is affecting life here. Honestly, things are pretty quiet. Gaza and the West Bank are very different places. Hamas still has loyal members in the West Bank. Hebron is one such place, but the authorities and powerful families in the city made a pact that internal fighting would not take place. And so far that has been the case.

A Palestinian asked me today what I thought of what is taking place in Gaza. I told him I have never been there and don't really know what to think. So, I asked him his opinion. He said he is sad to see Palestinians fighting Palestinians and there are many factors that are intensifying the violence there. Gaza is a very poor place; the unemployment there is through the roof. Gaza has one of the highest population densities in the world...and with so many people on top of each other with no way to get out, small squables can escalate very quickly. He also said the United States wanted democracy in the Middle East; the democratic process played out in Palestine and the US didn't like the outcome. So, they with held aid in hopes that the Hamas-led government would crumble and the Palestinian people would realize that Hamas couldn't govern. However, the only thing they are realizing through this is that the US gets what it wants no matter how much the people suffer.

This is the only person I have talked to so far about the situation. I'm sure there are many differing opinions.