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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Cry me a river
2007-06-16
Things were better when Israel ruled Gaza

Gaza resident speaks out against factional fighting, says situation in Gaza was better when Israel was in charge

“I’m afraid to say this out loud, they may execute me for it, but there are a lot of people, including myself, who think it would be better if Israel came back here. Things would be much better than they are now,” said Samara (alias), a graduate of the Islamic University living in the Gaza Strip.

According to Samara, who lives nearby one of the Fatah strongholds taken over by Hamas in recent days, fear reigns in Gaza’s streets, and apart from gunmen and military officials, no one leaves their homes. “The children are afraid all the time,” Samara says. “My nephews ask, ‘Why are the Israelis shooting at us?’, and we tell them it’s Palestinians. Then they ask, ‘Why are Palestinians shooting at us?’, and I have no answer for them.

“We have no food at home. We’ve been living on soups and canned food for days. There is no electricity or continuous water supply, let alone medicine or essential hygiene products,” she explained.

The gun battles taking place in the streets keep all of Gaza’s residents in a state of constant fear. “I hide in the house all day long, but even that might not be enough. Our neighbor was shot while he was inside. Men with black masks, weapons, and bags are walking around on the streets and I’m afraid to leave. They could shoot me – even if I’m not what they are looking for,” Samara said.

She blames both sides for the escalating violence. According to her, both Hamas and Fatah need to understand that they are one people. “They promised us a better life, and the situation is only getting worse. I’m afraid that by next week we’ll become a Taliban state.
Cause, meet effect. Effect, meet cause.
“The minute Hamas takes over, it will become an Islamic state. It must be understood – they were elected out of a sense of desperation. The people here are poor and desperate, and when they chose Hamas they had nothing to lose, but now it turns out they had a lot to lose.”
Eh, what can I say? Who did you vote in the last elections? My sympathy meter is ... broken.
Israel is not free of blame in Samara’s eyes either. According to her, despite the Israeli government’s desire to wash its hands of Gaza, it should have done so the “right way”, and left it with economic infrastructures.
One word: Greenhouses. Another word: Total bullshit. (okay, that's two words, then)
“When people have money, they don’t turn to violence,” she said.
Especially valid for those chubby Hamaseen, that seem to have no problem stockpiling and expending ammo...NOT!
Samara explained that the economic boycott on the Palestinian Authority punished residents of Gaza, and not Hamas.
But it's Hamas that is violent, not the residents, so riddle me this, Samara.
She called on Israel to open the Rafah crossing and allow those who could to leave Gaza. “The Strip is like a jail, and we could die,” she said.
I won't even look at my sympathy meter. You made your bed, you fear in it.
Samara also had harsh claims against Arab states, saying they do nothing to improve the situation. “Everywhere we go, even Arab states, they consider us to be terrorists,” she claimed.
Well, they have a point. It seems that it is not just a biased consideration, but a well know factoid.
Posted by:twobyfour

#8  Mac, LOL, I like your idea. ;-)
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-06-16 23:51  

#7  Watching this stuff happen in Gaza is like watching Shelob catch Orcs; no good guys in the picture. If all the participants were to die quickly, it would be a big improvement. Now, what Israel needs to do for the WB is pass a law stating that anyone involved in terror activities, along with their entire family, will be expelled to Gaza. That would calm the WB down considerably.
Posted by: Mac   2007-06-16 18:46  

#6  The camel has come home to roost.

And, as the Palestinians are discovering, that's one helluva roost to muck out.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-06-16 17:32  

#5  The camel has come home to roost.
Posted by: Grumenk Philalzabod0723   2007-06-16 16:10  

#4  My heart pumps piss.

when they chose Hamas they had nothing to lose, but now it turns out they had a lot to lose

Finally catching on about the downside to openly declaring in favor of terrorists, are we?

Samara also had harsh claims against Arab states, saying they do nothing to improve the situation. “Everywhere we go, even Arab states, they consider us to be terrorists,” she claimed.

And your point is? You Palestinian assholes have puffed and strutted with your terrorist posturings for many decades now. The blood of countless victims stains your collective hands and permanently soils your reputation. Rehabilitating it is going to take a lot more than just shouting "out, damned spot!" Maybe it's time to carefully re-examine how your fellow Arabs so eagerly financed all your terrorist atrocities and now shun you for your terrorist reputation. That certainly worked out neatly, now didn't it?
Posted by: Zenster   2007-06-16 15:27  

#3  I'll bet some of them wished they hadn't destroyed all those functioning greenhouses so they could be eating instead of waiting for the next UN/NGO handout.
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839   2007-06-16 12:50  

#2  Hopefully, Gaza will be much like Afghanistan during the reign of terror of the Taliban. Murder everywhere, rule by whim, the law of the gun, with every man turned against his brother. Chaos and anarchy.

Hopefully Egypt will seal the border, and Israel will cut off the power. And if it gets too bad, the water.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-06-16 10:46  

#1  Jeez. Sounds terrible.
That's too bad...
Posted by: tu3031   2007-06-16 10:44  

00:00