Farfour may be down, but not out. He may not even have left the building.
The Gaza Strip's isolated and cash-strapped Hamas rulers plan to build a $200 million media city and movie production facility that will be part tourist attraction and part power play to consolidate control of the territory it seized by force in June from the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas.
So far, alas, the Islamic militant moguls have raised only a tiny fraction of the moolah they need for their own private Hollywood-Disneyland roll-up.
Times are tough. The Gaza economy has ground to a standstill, and its people are struggling to feed themselves because of Israeli and international sanctions due to Hamas' refusal to modify its exterminationist philosophy with regard to the Jewish state it wishes to leave on the cutting room floor of history.
Despite the poverty in the 'hood, Hamas envisions a glittering facility with production studios, the latest satellite technology, gardens and ponds, a children's entertainment area and cafes and restaurants, this according to Filastin, the Hamas daily.
The Palestinian Disneyland will reportedly feature mock villages similar to those that Palestinians fled or were forced out of during Israel's creation in 1948, the newspaper reported, quoting Fathi Hamad, a Hamas politician and head of the project.
Mr Hamad said project directors have so far raised $1 million, but he was optimistic that the remaining $199 million could be raised from local donations and Palestinians living abroad.
A Preview of Coming Attractions? Some previous Hamas productions have generated unflattering headlines. In one show last year, a high-pitched Mickey Mouse lookalike called Farfour preached Islamic domination to children, much to the displeasure of descendants of the Disney family. After an international outcry, Hamas had the character killed off, by an actor playing an Israeli security officer.
The first movie Hamas plans to shoot reportedly will be based on a novel by one of its leaders in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar. Zahar has written seven novels, including a 1980 romance called Beautiful Woman, which may well be the basis for the Hamas Hollywood movie debut.
In the new Gaza version of the film, a wealthy well-dressed Palestinian Islamic leader -- reportedly modeled after Hamas leader Ismail Haniya -- falls for a whore with a heart of gold before she is stoned to death, several times, as members of her family and friends compete for the opportunity to carry out the honor killing.
Julia Roberts is reportedly not interested in the role, and apparently Suha Arafat is not available.
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