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RFI — Radio France Internationale · 2017-06-14
A report by RFI's special envoy to Gaza on the tenth anniversary of Hamas's takeover, noting 47 percent unemployment and four hours of electricity a day. Omar Shaban argues that Hamas may not be solely responsible for the record: install any government in Gaza with such a lack of resources, a siege and three wars, he says, and see who would succeed. The way out, he adds, is not in Palestinian hands alone.
A report by RFI's special envoy to Gaza on the tenth anniversary of Hamas's takeover, noting 47 percent unemployment and four hours of electricity a day. Omar Shaban argues that Hamas may not be solely responsible for the record: install any government in Gaza with such a lack of resources, a siege…
It was ten years ago. On June 14, 2007, Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip at the end of an armed conflict with its rival, Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, the Palestinian enclave has been subjected to a blockade by Israel and Egypt. Ten years later, the territory is exhausted and the Palestinian division is still deeply entrenched. The balance sheet of the past ten years is grim.
Published on: 14/06/2017 - 00:01 Modified on: 14/06/2017 - 00:39
With our special correspondent in Gaza, Guilhem Delteil
In 2007, Ahmad Youssef was one of the political advisers to the prime minister at the time. This influential Hamas member, who also has brothers within the rival party, then considered a fratricidal war inconceivable. And ten years later, he still regrets it.
“We all, all the political parties, must publicly apologize to our people. Unfortunately, events took this bad direction and they led to this disaster. We are still suffering from it today, and we do not know how to get out of this tragedy.”
In the Gaza Strip, this tragedy is reflected in the figures: 47% of the labor force is unemployed, and residents have only 4 hours of electricity per day.
A disastrous record for Hamas, but for which the Islamist movement may not be the only party responsible, emphasizes Omar Shaban, director of the think tank Pal-Think.
“You cannot know whether they failed because of their lack of experience or because the international community besieged them. Put any government in Gaza. With such a lack of resources, a siege, three wars—tell me who will succeed?”
And this multiplicity of actors also complicates any possible way out of the crisis: the solution, Omar Shaban emphasizes, is not only in Palestinian hands.
Text © RFI — Radio France Internationale — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source