 |
 |
 |
|
|
Palestinians gather near burning car during clashes between Hamas and Fatah security forces in Gaza, Sunday. (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 22, 2006 |
|
| |
As the situation worsens for Palestinians, Fatah security officers block Gaza intersections Sunday, and Palestinian teachers are on strike, both demanding their long-awaited salaries.
Security Forces Action
Palestinian security demanding overdue salaries from the Hamas government blocked main Gaza Strip intersections on Sunday and forced shopkeepers to shutter their stores, in the widening face-off between the ruling party and forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Security officers affiliated with Abbas' Fatah party set tires ablaze on main highways, snarling traffic and sending black smoke billowing over Gaza. Fatah security forces, some dressed in camouflage, forcibly shut down Gaza shops, shooting up lighting, facades and displays of shops that refused to abide by the strike.
The unrest came just hours after a senior Fatah activist was killed early Sunday in a gunbattle with Hamas militia. Fighting near the Bureij and Nusseirat refugee camps in central Gaza began over the weekend after Fatah police demonstrated to demand salaries on the eve of a major Muslim holiday.
Fatah vowed to further escalate the unrest before and after the three-day Eid el-Fitr festivities, which begin Monday.
Tensions between the two factions have been rising since the Islamic Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, unseated the long-ruling Fatah in January parliamentary elections.
The Hamas government, choked by international sanctions meant to force it to moderate, has been largely unable to pay 165,000 state workers -- half of them security forces -- since taking office in March. Nevertheless, it has refused to ease its hardline stand against Israel and join with the more moderate Fatah in a coalition government that would recognize the Jewish state.
Fatah and Hamas are also at loggerheads over control of the security forces, which are for the most part under Fatah's control. Hamas formed its own 6,000-member militia several months ago, raising the stakes in the often-violent battle between the two.
On Saturday, Abbas brought a security commander out of retirement to block Hamas from building up its forces in the West Bank -- another sign that the standoff between the Islamic militants and Fatah could erupt into widespread violence.
Teachers' Strike
The stress of the PA upheavel is also proven by the 800,000 Palestinian students locked out by an open-ended teachers' strike, called over the Hamas government's failure to pay salaries to 165,000 civil servants since it came to power in March.
A quick end to the strike appears unlikely.
Hamas says there's much more behind the walkout than a wage dispute: they accuse the rival Fatah movement, which dominates the teachers' unions, of keeping the strike going to try to bring down the government.
In this standoff, it appears increasingly likely Palestinian students will lose the entire year -- a blow to a society already weary from growing internal strife, economic depression and years of Israeli travel bans.
Many Palestinians put a premium on education as a means of survival -- a response to their turbulent history of uprooting and exile -- and parents are increasingly worried about their children's future.
The strike is reminiscent of the Israeli-imposed school closures during the first Palestinian uprising, from 1987-1993, when students would miss months of school at a time. Many of that generation say they still have large gaps in their education that they have been unable to fill as adults.
Driving instructor Jawad Abul Sheikh, 38, father of five, said the government should step down. "The whole region is standing against them, not only Israel and the West," he said of the Hamas rulers.
Education Minister Nasser Al Shaer of Hamas called the strike a "national catastrophe."
An educated labor force is one of the Palestinians' few resources. The West Bank and Gaza have one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world, and Palestinian professionals hold key positions in wealthy Gulf economies, often supporting families back home.
Al Shaer said he is appealing to the Arab world to help pay the teachers' salaries. In the meantime, he said, the teachers must return to work.
But educators said they will not keep working for free. "We were left unable to feed our families," said Muzied Ali, a 47-year-old English teacher at a village high school near Jerusalem.
Bassem Hadaideh, spokesman of the civil servants union, said the strike -- which currently includes some 40,000 teachers and 15,000 health care workers -- would be broadened if the government doesn't pay up.
Some of the 80,000 members of the security forces could soon walk out, he said. The men in uniform are on the job for now, but have staged protests. One of these protests ignited clashes with Hamas militants that left 12 dead and dozens injured in Gaza earlier this month.
Hamas and Fatah gunmen have tried to settle the dispute by force, clashing in the West Bank towns of Nablus and Tulkarem over whether schools should be open or shut down. Teachers have been threatened by gunmen from both sides.
Teachers with Hamas loyalties have largely kept working, trying mainly to help the high school seniors. In the town of Anata near Jerusalem, five of 18 teachers are giving three classes a day.
But that may not be enough to graduate, said Rami Hamdallah, head of An Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus. He expects the incoming class of An Najah students to shrink by 25 percent.
AP contributed to this report.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
