Media coverage
Deutsche Welle (Turkish) · 2013-08-27
DW Turkish on Gaza after the fall of Mohamed Morsi. The Palestinian political analyst Omar Shaban calls it “a political and economic tsunami for Hamas”, says Hamas is in shock that the same could happen in Gaza, and expects it to do everything to keep power.
Since the coup in Egypt, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has mostly remained closed. This border crossing, which serves as Gaza’s only gateway to the world, is opened only rarely, and then only for a few hours. In the months before Morsi was overthrown, passage was not very easy either, but the conditions for entering Egypt had been made relatively easier than before. But now the situation is very different.
Omar Shaban, a Palestinian political expert in Gaza, says that Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has been shaken by the change of power in Egypt: “Developments in Egypt had a tsunami effect on Hamas politically and economically. The Muslim Brotherhood, which was in power in Egypt for one year, was providing Hamas with political, psychological, and economic support.”
Until a short while ago, conditions for the Hamas government were quite favorable. The Muslim Brotherhood in neighboring Egypt was a reliable ally, and there had also been a pledge of millions in financial aid from Qatar to Gaza. But the sudden change of power in Egypt is now forcing Hamas to think very seriously.
Hard message to Hamas
Political expert Omar Shaban, who observes that “the collapse of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt was a very strong message to Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for six years,” continues: “Hamas is in shock at the reality that a similar development could also happen in Gaza. The organization will do everything it can not to lose its power in Gaza, but I do not think this will be very easy.”
Observers predict that Hamas will harden its line even further in order to maintain control over this 360-square-kilometer area. The Hamas administration is also not letting down its guard in its relations with the interim government in Egypt. Hamas spokesman Ihab al-Hussein notes that they hope stability will be restored in neighboring Egypt within a short time: “At the moment they are occupied only with themselves, and this means regression. Our hope is that stability will be established and bloodshed will end. We hope that the Egyptians will once again stand by the Palestinian cause.”
However, observers do not consider it very likely that relations will improve in the short term. It is possible to see signs of this especially in the south of the Gaza Strip. It is reported that in recent weeks the Egyptian army has bombed more than half of the underground tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, or rendered them unusable by flooding them with water.
‘They are smuggling in weapons and terrorists'
Army officials accuse Hamas of smuggling weapons and terrorists into the Sinai Peninsula through the tunnels. The tunnel system in question is of great importance to the entire Gaza Strip. Foodstuffs, construction materials, and weapons are smuggled into the area through the tunnels. It is stated that the Hamas government, which collects taxes on the goods entering the area through the tunnels, has suffered significant financial losses because of the Egyptian army’s operations.
The workers employed in these tunnels are also struggling with uncertainty. Muhammad, one of the workers who earns about 30 euros in return for 10 hours of labor a day, says that they are nevertheless used to not making long-term plans: “The situation in the Gaza Strip depends on Egypt. Whichever direction Egypt goes, Gaza goes in that direction too. We are surrounded by Israel. These are also our only ways out: above ground through the Rafah border crossing, and underground through these tunnels.”
Uncertainty is part of life in the Gaza Strip, and these days it is making itself felt more intensely than ever.
Text © Deutsche Welle (Turkish) — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source