The United States is standing squarely behind Fatah as rumours spread of possible new legislative elections, reports Erica Silverman As made evident by an increase in the radicalisation of Palestinian society and stronger loyalties to Hamas, US sanctions against the Hamas-led government are not working, declared presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh, who has tried to convince US President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to change their strategy. "If there is occupation there is resistance. I explained this to the US administration. The end of occupation will be the beginning of peace, otherwise the situation will remain a vicious circle," Abu Rudeineh told Al-Ahram Weekly. Poverty and desperation have gripped Palestinians as their economy has been strangled by international sanctions against the Hamas- led government and Israel's decision to withhold, in violation of the Paris Protocol, $54 million in monthly tax revenue owed to the Palestinian Authority. Government employees have gone unpaid for seven months. The formation of a national unity government between Fatah and Hamas remains the most favoured solution, although a technocratic government with a one-year mandate is more likely. It is too early for new elections, which may lead to violence or another Hamas victory, said Abu Rudeineh. Meanwhile, the United States has kick- started a $42 million campaign to support Palestinian groups it deems capable of "democracy building". The programme aims to "enhance civil society and democratic institutions, and provide assistance to media outlets," said Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, spokesperson for the US consul in Jerusalem, asserting there would be no direct funding of parties. Palestinians see the programme as an effort to bolster Fatah ahead of potential fresh legislative elections. According to an official US document obtained by Reuters, "This project supports [the creation of] democratic alternatives to authoritarian or radical Islamist political options." "This is all a continuation of programmes that have been going on for years -- as long as they are not going to terrorist organisations," said Schweitzer-Bluhm. The new funding, yet to be allocated, will flow through USAID and other American organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, such as the International Republican Institute. "We are against this policy. We are not working according to an American agenda," government spokesperson Ghazi Hamad told the Weekly regarding the US programme. "You cannot buy people," Hamad added. US funds will be allocated to "watchdog" groups and Palestinian journalists who monitor the Hamas- led government and human rights groups, according to a Reuters report. "We do not accept US funding in principle, because money given by the US is conditional and the conditions have only increased," said Mahmoud Abu Rahmah, international coordinator for Al-Mezan, the second largest Palestinian human rights organisation whose primary donors are Sweden and the Netherlands. According to Abu Ramah, the US funds will be allocated to marginal NGOs since the Palestinian NGOs' Network (PNGO) has refused US conditions. The Arab Thought Forum also turned down US funding for a programme that would have excluded Hamas lawmakers. The US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) worked intensively with Fatah before January's parliamentary elections to try to improve their electoral strategy. However, Hamas ran a well-organised, professional campaign, garnering the majority of votes. NDI has again begun to work with Fatah. Head of the Fatah parliamentary bloc, Ahmed Abu Holy, says Fatah has yet to receive US funding. "The international community is supporting us because our political programme is open to the world. Hamas's programme is one of siege and blockade," said Abu Holy, emphasising that "The US should push for a real solution." Palestinian lawmakers claim US financial support for Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas' Presidential Guard is increasing Hamas's popularity. "Palestinians understand America is supporting Fatah with money and at the same time preventing Hamas from receiving money. It makes Hamas look more nationalist and clean and Fatah look like a puppet for the Americans," said senior Fatah leader in Gaza Suffian Abu Zayda. The Fatah Central Committee should be responsible for rebuilding Fatah, claims Abu Holy, including the selection of better candidates and improving voter outreach. Fatah has yet to improve its image since its legislative elections defeat, while Hamas has strengthened its base internally. While the inter-Palestinian struggle continues, the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Gaza over the past week, targeting Hamas. At least 20 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded by Israeli forces over the weekend following an air strike east of Gaza City Thursday. More than a dozen Israeli tanks rolled into the area. Israel's now four- month long incursion into Gaza, purportedly to halt the launching of Qassam rockets into Israel and to secure the recovery of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas 25 June, continues. Meanwhile, an investigative report aired on Italian Rai News 24 last Wednesday presented compelling evidence that Israel used experimental weapons in Gaza in recent months causing devastating physical injuries to the civilian population, most commonly amputated limbs and critical burns. According to Maurizio Torrealta, who produced the documentary (available on the Internet for downloading), the investigation was triggered by reports from Gaza hospital directors in mid-July who were treating inexplicable wounds resulting from weaponry used against the population during Israeli incursions. Director of public relations at As-Shifa hospital, Dr Juma As-Saqa, amongst others, had called on the international community to help determine the type of weaponry employed. Samples from victim's bodies were sent to a team of 15 Italian experts from major Italian universities. The investigative team at Rai News determined the injuries were likely due to a new weapon dropped by unmanned drones used extensively this summer in Gaza. The weapon shares the exact characteristics of DIME -- Dense Inert Metal Explosive -- developed by the US military. It is a carbon shell that splinters upon impact. Its explosion emits a blast of tungsten gas, a heavy metallic element charged with heat that burns and destroys everything within a four-metre radius, according to the military magazine Defense Tech. Such technology, ironically, is part of a new range of "low lethality" weapons aimed to downgrade collateral damage. Despite its devastating effects, the weapon is too new to have been explicitly outlawed by the international community. Two trends indicate DIME was employed, explains Torrealta. Victims were sprayed with small fragments of hot shrapnel that were not visible in x- rays. Intensive care units of major hospitals in Gaza were filled with patients this summer whose bodies were peppered with black craters where hot shrapnel had penetrated. The second trend was the presence of a hot metal powder that caused at least 62 victims to have one or two lower limbs amputated. Doctors reported where the limb was cut the blood vessels were closed, making it appear to be an old wound, even though it was fresh. Physicians for Human Rights in Israel is "calling on the [Israeli] Defense Ministry to reveal what weapons were used to better treat the patients, and to see if [they] comply with international law," said spokesperson Shabtai Gold. The Red Cross is also conducting an investigation, but will not make its results public. Israeli forces remain in Gaza, placing the focus back on the common element to all Palestinians: the occupation. "We are calling on all parties to stop all violence, because we are facing a massive Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip," said spokesperson Hamad, referring to recent inter-Palestinian tensions.
