Palestinian suffering increases in Gaza

The first anniversary of Jewish settlers' withdrawal from the Gaza Strip arrived this month, yet it was hardly a cause for celebration among the territory's Palestinian residents. Events in Gaza, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, have largely been eclipsed in the past month as Israeli forces battled Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon in a conflict that began on July 12. Yet Israel has sustained its operations in Gaza during that time, battling militants and hitting suspected hideouts and rocket-manufacturing sites in air strikes and with tank shells. Since the Israeli offensive, more than 170 people have been killed in Gaza, many of them civilians, while roads, bridges, Hamas government offices and a power plant have been bombed. The incursion has led many in the region to surmise the actions constitute nothing less than a reoccupation of Gaza by Israel. The United Nations said last week the densely populated territory is now facing some of the worst humanitarian conditions in years. Meanwhile, the nascent Hamas government, with many of its ranks imprisoned by the Israelis in response to the abduction of an Israeli soldier and rocket attacks by Hamas' military wing, is suggesting the Palestinian Authority may not survive the current situation. Deadly July July was the deadliest in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, with Israel's offensive against Palestinian militants in the territory leading to a surge of killings, a Palestinian research group said last week. The Palestinian Monitoring Group said 151 people were killed in the coastal strip in July, the highest total since October 2004, when 166 people died. The group, which describes itself as internationally funded as well as a "supportive institution" to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said most of the Gazans killed last month were civilians. Separately, figures compiled by the Israeli human rights watchdog B'tselem showed the army killed 163 Palestinians in Gaza in July, 78 of who were not involved in hostilities. Major Tal Avraham, an Israeli army spokesman, rejected both groups' estimates of civilian casualties, saying "the vast majority of our hits were of armed people" and that the military did its utmost to avoid harming non-combatants. "The spiraling civilian casualties caused by Israeli actions throughout the region serve to strengthen extremists, weaken peace advocates and exacerbate the conflict," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, commenting on the findings. The army, which said it thoroughly investigated any civilian casualties, put the blame on militants for sheltering in civilian areas and accused them of sometimes using children to plant bombs. Palestinian govt. on weak footing Israel launched the Gaza campaign in late June to try to secure the release of a soldier abducted by militants in a cross-border raid. The Jewish state has also come under frequent rocket fire from Gaza since quitting the territory last year. Israel has thus far rejected demands by three groups, which include Hamas, that the captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit be traded for Palestinian prisoners. But Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas told reporters that he hoped a deal over Shalit could be reached soon, although he offered no details. Less optimistically, Haniyeh also suggested last week that the Palestinian Authority may not be able to continue to function with key lawmakers and ministers in Israeli jails. He raised the possibility of dissolving the Authority, which was created under peace deals with Israel in 1994, for the first time since taking office. Hamas trounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in a January parliamentary election and took control of the Palestinian Authority in March. "All political elites, the presidency, the factions and the government are invited to discuss the future of the Palestinian Authority following this [Israeli] attack," Haniyeh said, referring to Israel's arrest of parliament speaker Aziz Dweik of Hamas last week. "Can the Palestinian Authority function under the occupation, kidnappings and assassination?" Haniyeh asked lawmakers in the West Bank via a video link from the Gaza Strip. Reoccupation Palestinians suggest the Gaza incursion is nothing more than a reoccupation of territory the Jewish state under former president Ariel Sharon had agreed to leave for good last August. "We left Gaza to leave, not to return," said Israeli army spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal. "As soon as rocket fire stops and the abducted soldier is returned, the Palestinians can and should go back to forging their destiny. It is up to the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people." Although it was the militant raid and rocket fire that triggered the offensive, most Palestinians still blame the Israelis and say Gaza never had a real chance. "It was a continuation of the occupation in other forms," said Hamdi Shaqoura of the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights. "Israel threw dust in the eyes." The situation in Gaza, however, had been going downhill long before Israel sent the troops back. In fact, the fight against Israel has restored relative unity among armed factions that had been on the brink of civil war. After taking over the government, Hamas was caught in a bitter power struggle with Abbas' Fatah, which seeks a state in just Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem rather than fighting to destroy Israel entirely. The groups fought sporadic clashes while there were several assassination attempts on key leaders. Kidnappings, killings and other crimes also surged. Over 100 people have been killed in internal violence so far this year. The bloodshed has only served to strengthen the hand of the militant groups while an ongoing US-Israeli aid embargo has brought the Palestinian Authority closer to collapse and is likely to continue until Hamas softens its stand or falls from power. The differences between Hamas and President Abbas also make it difficult to see any imminent political deal that could bring comfort to Gaza even if the fighting stopped. "A unified Palestinian political agenda is still absent," said political analyst Hani Habib. "I personally do not see a dramatic change in the near future unless it is for the worse."