General strike in Gaza
Sep 10 2007 11:06
not interesting enough for news.
Fatah called it on Sunday after clashes between their militants and Hamas' executive force.
I've got reports that a shop was firebombed for staying open and that a headmaster was arrested and held by Hamas until he agreed to remain open in any future strikes.
About half the shops in Gaza's main road are closed
Apparently dozens of (supposedly pro-hamas ) students protesting against higher fees were beaten in the west bank, a reuters cameraman was arrested for trying to film the demonstration.
Just looks like people are getting polarised or squashed in the middle of these two.
Interestingly the french report I got this from contains the following sentence "The Islamic movement which has controlled the Gaza strip since its victory over Fatah security forces in mid-june..." (rought trans)
Sep 10 2007 17:25
#2
Quote:
I did see green flags flying from certain Mosques but I was told by someone that lived there that this doesn't necessarily stand for Hamas.
Green is the colour of Islam so this is not very surprising. See it all over cairo as well.
But it is weird that you saw very little Hamas propaganda in the West Bank. Last time I was there (two years ago) I saw loads of it, especially in the villages around Ramallah.
But from what I've been told after Hamas took over in Gaza there was somewhat of a witch hunt of Hamas and its supporters in the West Bank, particularly in the cities (Ramallah, Nabul and Jenin). So the students were probably beaten by Fatah/Al-Aqsa Brigades thugs since it happened in the West Bank (though this is just a guess).
Quote:
edit: just saw on Ha'aretz that a poll of Palestinians by 'a Ramallah think tank' that 73% of Palestinians oppose the Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Could you give a link, I'd like to see/read it. Thanks.
Sep 10 2007 23:42
#3
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/10/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Abbas-Poll.php
Fatah's tendency to crack down notwithstanding, I think it's also possible that the lack of Hamas propaganda stands for a growing rejection of the group's methods.
Sep 11 2007 08:02
#4
Quote:
I think it's also possible that the lack of Hamas propaganda stands for a growing rejection of the group's methods.
Tbh, I would think it's the other way around. Folks are getting tired of Fatah's corruption, inability to govern and generally fucking up everything. Abbas is a bit of a laugh and all that. This is why Hamas won the election, but it doesn't mean at all that the people that voted for Hamas are that close to the group.
Certainly, what you're saying is possible but I have seen no evidence that this implies a rejection of Hamas' methods is in fact the case for most Palestinians in the West Bank. Tbh support for armed attacks against Israel is still well over 50 percent last time I saw a poll (I think it was in the high 60s, though I can't remember where I saw it sorry).
Quote:
According to the poll, 31 percent of respondents supported Hamas, while 48 percent supported Fatah. In comparison, 33 percent supported Hamas in June, at the time of the takeover,while 43 percent backed Fatah. Hamas trounced Fatah in January 2006 parliamentary elections.
This is not exactly a landslide in favour of Fatah. In fact, the support for Hamas is way way over the support they had before the elections (33 percent is what I thought Hamas would get in the elections, boy did their electoral victory come as a shock).
Sep 11 2007 09:08
#5
sphinx wrote:
Do you know who the students were beaten by? I'd be surprised if Hamas were already beating their own people.
Fatah. I did wonder if the students actually were hamas or whether Fatah just said that they were.
Sep 18 2007 08:48
#6
Quote:
edit: just saw on Ha'aretz that a poll of Palestinians by 'a Ramallah think tank' that 73% of Palestinians oppose the Hamas takeover of Gaza.
That Ramallah think tank is effectively a propaganda arm of Fateh. Before the Hamas sweep of the 2006 elections, this organization was going all out trying to prove that Fateh was going to be resoundingly voted into office.
June 2005:
"Findings show that the level of participation in the next legislative elections will be 77% and the outcome of those elections will be as follows: 44% for Fateh, 33% for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, 3% for the left, and 8% for independent lists. 12% are undecided."
September 2005:
"Findings show that 74% of the Palestinians will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections in January 2006. Voting intentions among the likely participants indicate an increase of Fateh’s support from 44% last June to 47% in this poll and a drop in Hamas’ support from 33% to 30% during the same period. 11% will vote for other factions and groups and 11% remain undecided."
December 2005:
"If elections are held today, findings show that 78% of the Palestinians would participate (compared to 74% last September). Among those intending to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, 50% will vote for Fateh, 32% for Hamas, 9% for other factions and groups including independents, and 9% remain undecided."
I really wonder why any news organization pays them the slightest notice whatsoever.
Sep 18 2007 09:33
#7
Quote:
The poll was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, an independent think tank based in Ramallah. The agency questioned 1,270 Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem between Sept. 6-8, and the survey had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Ok will keep that in mind, thanks for the info Nullifidian and welcome to the boards.
Sep 18 2007 10:56
#8
Quote:
That Ramallah think tank is effectively a propaganda arm of Fateh. Before the Hamas sweep of the 2006 elections, this organization was going all out trying to prove that Fateh was going to be resoundingly voted into office.
Do you have any evidence for this? Not that i would be a huge surprise that they are. But I just can't infer that they're really a Fatah outfit from the polls you mentioned as the numbers given were pretty typical of most of the polls conducted in the territories at the time.
When I was in the west bank about a month ago one thing I was struck by was the almost total absence of Hamas propaganda in the cities I was in. Occasionally you'd see the poster with the Hamas man holding Gilad Shalit's avatar but that was it. I did see green flags flying from certain Mosques but I was told by someone that lived there that this doesn't necessarily stand for Hamas. I know that Hamas still certainly has a presence in the West Bank but I was surprised how non-obvious it was. Fatah/Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades/PFLP propaganda ruled the streets as far as I saw. And in the news it's quite obvious how the armed civil war is still basically restricted to Gaza.
Do you know who the students were beaten by? I'd be surprised if Hamas were already beating their own people.
edit: just saw on Ha'aretz that a poll of Palestinians by 'a Ramallah think tank' that 73% of Palestinians oppose the Hamas takeover of Gaza.