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Workers print Palestinian flags on baseball caps at a factory in Gaza city. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 2, 2005 |
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The battle between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas over who will get credit for the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is being fought in print shops, flag factories and back alley sewing workshops.
The Palestinian Authority has commissioned tens of thousands of national flags as well as mugs, bumper stickers and posters with the slogan "Today Gaza, tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem" -- props for planned mass celebrations meant to portray the pullout as an achievement of the Abbas government.
Hamas is striking back, preparing for military-style victory parades. Hamas supporters are sewing thousands of martial uniforms and flags in the group's trademark Islamic green and activists are buying up privately owned jeeps and pickup trucks to lead the marches.
The winner of the competition may well be the next ruler of Gaza.
Hamas, increasingly popular because of disaffection with government corruption and chaos, could make an even stronger showing in upcoming parliament elections if seen as the liberator of Gaza. That image could be reinforced if Hamas terrorists fire on Israeli soldiers and settlers during next month's pullout. Hamas has claimed all along that its shooting, bombing and rocket attacks during the past five years of fighting have forced the Israelis out.
Most Palestinians appear to agree. In a survey of 1,320 Palestinians last month, 72 percent said Israel was driven out of Gaza by terrorist attacks. The poll, by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
However, the Palestinian Authority could make a comeback if it quickly delivers some achievements after the pullout, winning some freedom of movement for fenced-in Gazans and creating jobs. Much depends on Israel's willingness to coordinate the pullout, but Palestinian negotiators complain Israel is dawdling.
"We are still in the middle of the competition," said Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi, adding that Israel is undermining Abbas by delaying decisions on crucial issues, such as establishing a passage between Gaza and the West Bank, and new rules for border crossings.
While waiting for a deal with Israel, Abbas is trying to wrest control of the streets from the terrorists, at least symbolically.
Banners and posters of terrorist groups have been banned from public places, but removing them is an overwhelming job. Shop shutters and walls of houses across Gaza are covered with political graffiti and posters of gun-toting terrorists. Police have cleared a few areas in Gaza City, but terrorist art still dominates most streets.
The Palestinian Authority is spending US$1.7 million on withdrawal celebrations. It has ordered tens of thousands of Palestinian flags, from small pennants to two-story banners, that are being sewn in small workshops across Gaza.
A Gaza City flag shop is sewing about 200,000 Palestinian flags. "They want the whole country to be carrying Palestinian flags," said the owner, Tareq Abu Daya.
For the victory rallies, the government will give away to its supporters 128,000 pairs of blue jeans along with white T-shirts, either with Palestinian flags or pictures of the late Yasser Arafat. Posters, caps, mugs and bumper stickers are being printed with slogans such as, "The people liberate, the people rebuild" and "Our land is returning to us, so let's protect it" -- all meant to portray the pullout as an achievement of the people, not a faction.
Palestinian officials acknowledge privately that the main objective is to challenge Hamas.
Hamas, meanwhile, is planning its own military-style victory parades. Tens of thousands of the group's green flags and headbands are being sewn in private homes and hidden workshops; the larger factories have been told they would lose government contracts if they make Hamas flags.
A senior Hamas official said the group is also sewing more than 2,000 uniforms for parades. Palestinian intelligence officials said they believe Islamic terrorists are preparing ten times as many outfits.
"It's not acceptable to limit this victory to the Palestinian Authority," said Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri.
Palestinian analyst Khalil Shekaki said the preparations don't mean Hamas plans to take over Gaza after Israel leaves. "Hamas could achieve that by elections, if the Palestinian Authority fails to find solutions for corruption and chaos," he said.
Many Gazans appear to have made up their minds about why Israel's soldiers and settlers are leaving after 38 years of occupation. The terrorists may have speeded up the withdrawal, but in the end Gaza is such a miserable place that no one wants it, said Ziad al-Murannia, 54, a Gaza City shopkeeper.
"(The Israelis) don't need it, and they don't need us," he said.
The AP contributed to this report.
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