 Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) |
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In an exceptional statement on the first anniversary of the disengagement, Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad criticized anarchy and corruption in the Gaza Strip, blaming Palestinian society and no, as usual, the Israeli “occupation.” He also criticized rocket attacks against Israel, which he said did more harm than good, and said the Palestinians had to search their souls to extricate themselves from their situation.
Ghazi Hamad, Hamas government spokesman, at a press conference devoted
to the abduction of Gilad Shalit (Al-Jazeera TV, June 25).
Overview
In an editorial appearing in the August 27 issue of the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad thoroughly analyzed the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip and pointed the finger of accusation chiefly at the “resistance” (i.e., the Palestinian terrorist organizations). In the article, apparently written on the anniversary of last year's Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip , he claimed that the Palestinians had not been wise enough to use the disengagement as a springboard for socio-economic development. Instead, he said, they had turned the Strip into a focal point of “anarchy and corruption.”
Such a statement is rarely made by senior Hamas officials . It calls for a Palestinian soul searching and accuses the Palestinians themselves of the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip, rather than the usual automatic reaction of accusing Israel . Moreover, as opposed to the admiration shown in the Palestinian street for Hezbollah's rocket attacks against Israel , Ghazi Hamad said that the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip did more harm than good and were detrimental to the Palestinian people's interests (similar to statements sometimes made by Abu Mazen).
In our assessment, Ghazi Hamad's exceptional criticism of the rocket attacks was caused by the mounting weariness felt by the Hamas government and the Palestinian population with the current situation, which comes as a result of the IDF's continued intensive activities in the Gaza Strip. There was also the shift in international interest from the Palestinian to the Lebanese arena, which left the Palestinians frustrated. Under the circumstances (which are liable to change), in August the Palestinian terrorist groups considerably reduced their rocket attacks against Israeli population centers in the western Negev : there were 33 hits in Israel territory in August 1 as opposed to 191 in July and 140 in June.
Responses to Ghazi Hamad's article
The article provoked reactions in the Palestinian press. Among them were:
• An August 28 editorial in the Palestinian Authority's official paper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda , leveled criticism at Ghazi Hamad's statements. It stated that the Hamas government was responsible for the dire situation . It is the government, said the article, which is responsible for keeping public order, preventing crime and ending anarchy. The editorial called upon the Hamas government to establish a government of technocrats and coordinate the activities of the various security apparatuses to extricate the PA from the crisis it has been foundering in since the movement rose to power in January 2006.
• Nabil ‘Amru, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council , praised Ghazi Hamad for his sincerity, courage and objectivity in his description of the precarious situation in the Gaza Strip. He also claimed that the Israeli “occupation” could not be blamed for the Palestinians' current situation. He called upon the Palestinian media to join Ghazi Hamad and speak out against the situation before a catastrophe occurred (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, August 29).
The main points of Ghazi Hamad's editorial
The editorial noted that despite the optimism which prevailed among Palestinians on the eve of the disengagement, the current situation was one of wretchedness, misery and depression . After the disengagement many Palestinians hoped that positive forces would take the place of the Israeli army and cause the PA to flourish and build. The unprecedented democratic election to the Palestinian Legislative Council reinforced such hopes.
However, the Palestinian hopes were disappointed and anarchy filled the void left by the Israelis. Life in the Gaza Strip turned into “a nightmare, squalor and an unbearable burden.” Ghazi Hamad noted that the situation had come about not only because of the “occupation,” which the Palestinian public customarily blames for all its problems , but because of the deterioration of Palestinian society: “anarchy, lawlessness, wanton killing, land theft and inter-clan feuds.”
Hamad did not spare his criticism of the Palestinian [terrorist] organizations alienated from the interests of Palestinian population : “At a time when immense efforts are being invested to open the Rafah crossing to ease civilian distress, someone had to go and launch a rocket over the crossing” (the Palestinian terrorist organizations did in fact carry out terrorist attacks at the crossings, which are the Gaza Strip's life-lines).
Hamad appealed to the Palestinian population, especially the members of the Palestinian terrorist organizations, asking, “What benefit does the resistance bring when the country is up to its neck in anarchy, corruption, crime and worthless inter-clan murder? Is building the homeland not part of the resistance? Are not [maintaining] cleanliness, order and respect for law part of the resistance?” He added, “Have pity on Gaza and let your heads rule your hearts. Put the homeland before party and faction. Let us express solidarity with the depressed and suffering by seriously paying attention to our mistakes, which we are used to whitewashing!”
According to Hamad, the resistance (i.e., terrorist organizations), despite his respect for it, made many mistakes . He gave statistics illustrating the harm done by rocket attacks: since the disengagement more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded, as opposed to “three or four” Israelis killed by rocket fire. He also said that there are those who claim the rockets had an accumulated effect [psychological or on morale]. However, he said, that did not atone for such large numbers of Palestinian victims and that such attacks did no good and even harmed Palestinian interests .
He also made a point of noting the factionalism among the [terrorist] organizations. The “resistance,” he said, was a general term including principles which had been forgotten because of internal dissention, such as building the homeland and respect for law and order. In fact, the “resistance” had turned into unrestrained, violent rivalry between the various factions and made it unpalatable. Hamad ended with a call for the various factions to have pity on the Gaza Strip and to put the homeland at the top of their priority list, before organization or party.
A full translation of the article into Hebrew and the original Arabic appear on our Hebrew website
( http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/HebSite/home/default.asp ).
1 As of August 30.