With the stand-off over the fate of the Rafah border crossing persisting, Gazans find some freedom marred by violence, writes Erica Silverman Overcome with emotion upon the Israeli army's Monday morning withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians flooded into evacuated settlements ushering in what the Palestinian Authority (PA) has termed "jubilation week", although celebrations began after a week of internal violence. The security situation in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating. In the last week, six Gazans were killed and 89 injured due to internal violence emanating from family disputes, the explosion of a Hamas weapons site, and an operation mounted by the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) -- levels of violence similar to that experienced during Israeli incursions. Last Thursday night, masked members of the PRC -- an umbrella group of resistance factions -- shuffled from one side of a dark street in Gaza City to the other choosing the best location for their press conference to announce the release of Menhal Arafat, a PA security official, whom they had held hostage for nearly two days. His release was brokered by an Egyptian delegation in Gaza on condition that he is prosecuted for alleged crimes, including embezzlement. Two day earlier, PRC members dragged his father, Moussa Arafat, former security chief and head of military intelligence, into the street and shot him to death. "We've run a well-planned operation, in one of Gaza's most secured and well-guarded neighbourhoods," announced PRC leader Abu Radwan. The PRC operation was seen as an act of tribal revenge, coloured with calls for justice and fighting corruption. Palestinian officials and the public alike despised Moussa, who still wielded power behind the scenes. "The PA's unwillingness to fight corruption has pushed people to take the law into their own hands," stated Hamas spokesperson Mushier Masri. The PRC operation lasted over 30 minutes, less than 300 meters from Abbas's residence, during which Preventative Security forces failed to respond. The PRC openly claimed responsibility. Some analysts fear that if President Abbas and the PA Ministry of Interior do not respond quickly it will appear as though the PA is losing control, setting the precedent that such acts of violence go unsanctioned. Indeed, there is a sense of lawlessness in Gaza as Palestinian factions, families, and PA officials themselves, continually resort to illegal mechanisms to resolve grievances. Last week, unemployed labourers in Khan Younis hurled rocks at PA security officers in protest against their situation while the following day PA police officers set tires ablaze in the streets of Gaza City, demanding higher wages. The UN has evacuated all foreign personnel since they are potential targets amidst a wave of kidnappings, the most recent being an Italian journalist who was briefly taken hostage on Saturday by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Those kidnapped have gone unharmed, but in several instances PA officials themselves were involved in the abductions, and to date the crimes have gone unpunished. "The PA is required to enforce the law, and if PA officials break the law they must be held accountable," stated Hamas spokesperson Masri. Four months ago, General Ala Hosni, police chief for the West Bank and Gaza, arrived in Gaza City to rehabilitate a crumbling police force. Three months ago, 14 security services were combined into three under one command as part of Abbas's national platform, and they are still restructuring. PA security forces are in desperate need of resources, explained Hosni, and to date Israel has denied entry for equipment and weapons into the West Bank and Gaza -- everything from bullets, to flak jackets and vehicles. "How am I supposed to confiscate Hamas's weapons without my own?" asked Hosni. Hamas and other factions have refused to disarm, claiming Gaza is still occupied and the PA is not strong enough to protect the Palestinian cause. Gazans have also amassed weapons for personal safety, knowing the PA may be unable to respond to lawlessness. "In the last five years the country has become a forest of arms, spread under the motto of resistance to occupation," stated General Hosni. Under the Oslo Agreements, the Interior Ministry was set up to provide security to Israel, while that very system, along with the entire PA security infrastructure, has been under constant attack by Israel for the past five years. Post- withdrawal, the situation will remain the same until Abbas draws the line and holds families and factions accountable, or until Hamas achieves electoral success in the January legislative elections. Hamas plays its own role in providing security, negotiating between the PA and various factions. "Hamas starts with itself, we are well disciplined and have never used force against Palestinians," noted Masri. Hamas also has a reputation of eschewing corruption, with a proven track record of providing vital services, bolstered since victories in municipal elections, making them appear as a viable alternative to the PA. Regarding the bigger picture, negotiations over the Rafah crossing -- the only Palestinian access point to the outside world -- remain deadlocked. In a 7 September meeting, Israel announced that the crossing will remain closed for six months, Diana Buttu, legal adviser to Mohamed Dahlan, PA minister of civil affairs, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Palestinians outside the country will be stranded, others trapped inside, and transit required for the coming elections will come to a halt. Israel is pressuring the Palestinians to accept moving the crossing to a new location, where Gaza, Egypt and Israel meet, at Kerem Shalom. What are the chips Israel has thrown on the table? One, if the Palestinians do not accept moving the crossing to Kerem Shalom, Gaza becomes a closed prison for six months, which undermines the authority of the PA and increases support for the factions who have vowed to fight back. Two, Israel will not permit the rubble from the demolished settlement structures to be removed, leaving large parts of Gaza a junkyard. Three, goods produced in Gazan greenhouses will not be available for export to European markets, and if limited to an internal market, will fail. Four, Israel will break the customs union, creating a double taxation system, meaning goods will be taxed entering Gaza and again when entering the West Bank. The same "back-to-back" system that has strangled the Palestinian economy, in which goods are unloaded and reloaded seven times on their way, will remain in place, and finally, Israel will cancel a safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza. If Palestinians do agree to move the crossing to Kerem Shalom, for a Palestinian travelling from Rafah to Egypt, instead of travelling approximately 1.5 kilometres down to the Rafah crossing, he or she would be forced to travel to Erez checkpoint at the northern tip of Gaza, exit into Israel and then travel back down to Kerem Shalom: at least a 120-kilometre trip that requires a permit to enter Israel, which is not forthcoming. "There will be no travel if we do accept," admonished Buttu. Egypt, along with the PA, has rejected the Israeli proposal to move the crossing thus far. Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet announced that Gaza is no longer occupied, to which Minister Dahlan responded: "By reserving itself the ability to invade the Gaza Strip and by maintaining control over Palestinian airspace, territorial waters, and most importantly its borders, Israel will continue its military rule over the Palestinians." Minister Dahlan and PA officials declined to participate in the Israeli handover ceremony on Sunday marking their withdrawal, sending the message that for Gazans, Israeli military occupation and economic control have not ended. Inside the Strip itself, Gazans are coming to terms with geography. "Everything is open, it's not Gaza anymore," exclaimed Mahmoud Habboush, an Islamic Relief officer, as he made his way back from the former Kefar Darom settlement. It was the first time in three years he was able to travel along Salaheddin Street, the major north-south thoroughfare, to reach Gaza City. Aged 24, it was his first day in Gaza without an Israeli military presence. Gazans are taking advantage of their first taste of freedom in 38 years, reclaiming the settlement land as checkpoints are opened, families reunited, and children from Khan Younis and Rafah catch their first glimpse of the sea from their own shores.
