...Hamas officials emerging from hiding greeted each other like long-lost friends as supporters flew green Hamas flags, sang Hamas songs and set ablaze a faux coffin emblazoned with the Star of David and the words "Death to Israelis."
Not everyone was in a celebratory mood. In the Sheik Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Jamal Dababish stood atop the ruins of his apartment building, which was leveled by an Israeli airstrike two weeks ago. The father of five also lost the first-floor supermarket his family ran for more than two decades, and he questioned whether the Hamas-led government was up to the huge task of rebuilding.
Three days after the attack, a man who identified himself as a Hamas official showed up in the neighborhood and gave Mr. Dababish and his four brothers each $500 cash as compensation.
Hamas appeared to be trying to emulate Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese group that, after a five-week war with Israel in 2006, reportedly distributed thousands of dollars to every family that lost its house. Dababish, however, described the amount given by Hamas as paltry.
"It's not enough for anything," Dababish said, shaking his head. "I bought food and clothes for my kids. I'm waiting for someone to rebuild my home and repair my supermarket. It doesn't matter who it is."
i know hamas is financed by some other arab countries, but...eh. i dunno. we've been known to fuel both sides of a conflict, too.
i wonder if all those fistfuls of cash are coming from lebanon and iran. who are these "hamas officials", really?
hamas may have started out for/by/about the people, but is that what they still are?
who's truly fighting for the palestinian people?
No comments:
Post a Comment