Wary praise for Hamas-Fatah truce

Celebration in Gaza City is dispersed by police wielding batons, while Ramallah seems more concerned with Champions League In Ramallah’s Manara Square there was not a Palestinian flag to be seen following the news of a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday night – but there were hundreds of Real Madrid and Barcelona flags carried by fans watching the Champions League semi-finals. In Gaza City around 100 people went to the Square of the Unknown Soldier to celebrate, but were quickly dispersed by Hamas police wielding batons. Sama, 30, a journalist and activist with the Gaza Youth Break Out group, said: “We went to the square to celebrate the hope of unity. We were around 100 people but there were more policemen. We waved Palestinian flags and we sang, ‘Palestine is all that matters.’ Within minutes they just started hitting us with batons.” The Gaza Youth group organised protests on 15 March this year to demand unity between the Hamas and Fatah factions . Thousands joined those demonstrations, until they were violently dispersed by the police. Abu Yazan, 24, another activist, said that he had been arrested five times since 15 March but added that he was happy that the group’s protests appeared to have an effect. “We demanded unity between Fatah and Hamas because the divisions have screwed us for a very long time,” he said. “We are so happy but so cautious. They have signed agreements before but then fall out on the details.” Hamas and Fatah have come to two agreements since Hamas won legislative elections in 2006. The first was signed in March 2007 in Mecca and lasted for three months until the outbreak of a five-day war in Gaza, which ended with Hamas taking complete control of the territory. The second agreement was signed in Yemen in 2008 by the same signatories as Wednesday’s agreement but lasted just two days. Wednesday’s agreement took many commentators by surprise. Many believe that while Hamas and Fatah may in theory support a unity government, each is unwilling to give up its hold on power in Gaza and the West Bank respectively. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel since Hamas took power in 2007. Some can leave via the Rafah border with Egypt but most are unable to. Young people have been particularly harmed by economic sanctions which have caused unemployment of up to 70% among the young. Ramallah, where Fatah and the Palestinian Authority are based, is in the midst of a boom funded by international aid and investment. Gaza may be poorer but Hamas has complete control within its borders. In the West Bank, most of which does not share the prosperity of Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority’s control is limited by Israel’s occupation. In Ramallah Feidi Abdulsamad, 30, an officer in the Palestinian security forces, welcomed the agreement. “If we change this government this year we have a good chance at peace. If we have a better contact with Hamas then I am happy. If we are together we are stronger and if we are stronger, we have a better chance of peace with Israel,” he said. Razan, 22, a graphic designer, also welcomed the agreement but said she thought it would not make much difference to her life. “But I think for Gazans it offers them some hope,” she said. In Gaza City, Abu Ghassan, 24, a student and activist with Gaza Youth Break Out said that most Palestinians were exhausted by the Israeli occupation and Palestinian divisions and were sceptical of progress. “We need actions. We need to feel that both sides are ready to make sacrifices for unity but we have not seen anything yet. My fear is that once they have to give something up, they will freeze,” he said. Palestinian territories Hamas Fatah Gaza Middle East Conal Urquhart guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 28, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.