While Salam 's project of creating a Palestinian state by building credible institutions divides Palestinian opinion, even this moderate approach is unacceptable to Israel, writes Saleh Al-Naami Sanaa, 44, was surprised when she arrived early in the morning at her family's farm next to the village of Azun in the centre of the Gaza Strip. The crop looked like it was sabotaged. Soon she saw something that made her scream out loud and run back to her house -- a herd of pigs were grazing in the corner of her family's farm closest to the Jewish settlement of Alon Manshiya. Sanaa had heard of the droves of pigs that settlers release into Palestinian villages to spoil crops and scare the population, but this was the first time that she saw the pigs herself. Palestinian villagers, especially in central and northern Gaza, complain that their ability to cultivate their land has largely diminished because of serious damage done by pigs that settlers transport on large trucks and release in Palestinian farmland to force farmers to leave. While Sanaa and her husband Mohamed wrestle with the pain and perplexity of what to do next, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam continues to declare that Palestinian statehood is at hand -- statehood that would end the suffering of Sanaa and her husband. says he is busy creating the foundations of a Palestinian state whether negotiations continue or not, and recently revealed his plan to establish the institutions of the promised Palestinian state -- some of which have already been completed. stated that his government invested large sums of money to launch 178 projects near the annexation wall that Israel built in the heart of the West Bank, bringing the number of completed projects to 2,568. The prime minister ambitiously promised that eventually there would be no need for foreign assistance, noting that his cabinet has already created 150,000 jobs since 2007, which curtailed unemployment to a large extent. also highlighted the 50 per cent rise in the income of civil servants and improvement in security conditions in the West Bank, which ended the instability that was prevalent before his cabinet came to power. also boasted that he set the foundation for a "national independent" judiciary. He made these declarations in an attempt to emphasise that his promise of an imminent Palestinian state is based in real action, not just statements. But when talks about an imminent Palestinian state against a backdrop of settlement building, it makes many Palestinians sceptical, including Fatah's political elite. The group's leadership is displeased with such declarations at a time when Israel continues to change realities on the ground by building thousands of housing units for settlers. Others suspect that the state that is talking about is no more than "a state within temporary borders", as stated by many Israelis including Israeli cabinet ministers and most recently Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Some leaders in Fatah described 's promised statehood as nothing but a "Mickey Mouse state", describing repeated declarations about statehood under current conditions as "a blow to efforts by the group and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to secure more recognition for the Palestinian state", These sources said that discontent with 's actions have reached an extent that several members of Fatah's Central Committee contacted him, reproached him and asked him to stop making such statements. But was defiant and declared he is intent on establishing the foundations of a Palestinian state. What angered the leaders of Fatah further was that openly refused the unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, and chose to make his position public on Israeli television's Channel 2, which took many Fatah leaders by surprise. This is especially sensitive because among the steps that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) considered in response to freezing talks with Israel is the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Fatah leaders are cautious not to publicly criticise , however, because the group depends on his government for funds. clearly stated his disapproval of continued efforts by Palestinian officials to convince more countries to recognise Palestinian statehood. Sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that during internal meetings objected to the proposal to approach the UN Security Council and demand international recognition of a Palestinian state. This is a leading idea that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is currently considering, to counter deadlock on the negotiations track. But there are Palestinians who believe that, practically speaking, a country cannot be created under occupation. "How can we talk about establishing a state in the shadow of more than 600 Israeli military roadblocks?" asks Palestinian writer Mustafa Ibrahim. "How can we plan development under these conditions? How can we build our national economy when we can't import our needs through our own port, and use the Israeli port of Ashdod?" Ibrahim told the Weekly that is unrealistic in promoting the road network that his government built with USAID money at a time when Israeli roadblocks run up and down these roads. This infrastructure, he said, only creates "the illusion" of Palestinian sovereignty; meanwhile, these roads are used to connect settlements to each other and to Israel. "Why has only been able to work on 13 projects inside Jerusalem?" Ibrahim asks, despite the fact that his government declared Jerusalem a national priority zone. Ibrahim responded to 's statement that foreign aid would become unnecessary by saying: "Does think that increasing the burden of taxes on the people is a means to improve the national economy?" He added that the budget for the security apparatus (which remains a secret) puts a lot of strain on the PA treasury and Palestinian citizens, while funds for the Ministry of Agriculture amount to only one per cent of government's budget. Ibrahim mocks 's claims of an independent judiciary, saying that the incumbent government does not apply the decisions of the Palestinian Supreme Court that are supposed to be binding on all institutions. As for 's boast about creating 150,000 jobs since 2007, Ibrahim wonders: "Why didn't 's cabinet employ one single person from Gaza?" He pointed out that unemployment rates in the West Bank are not too different from those in the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that the latter is under siege. Ibrahim quoted figures from independent sources that 106,000 people are unemployed in the West Bank, while the figure stands at 112,000 in the Gaza Strip. Ibrahim asserted that is using "misleading" figures by the World Bank, and argued that the Palestinians in the West Bank suffer from hunger, poverty, unemployment and high prices, as well as the spread of monopolies, partisanship and partnership with Israel. Ibrahim criticised the decision by 's government to reverse the boycott of products made in settlements and on working there, and sees trade with Israel as "serving Israel's 'economic peace'". Many observers believe that is promoting the idea of statehood to enforce himself as the sole successor after Abbas, and that despite the animosity between and the leaders of Fatah there are no better candidates. This is based on the fact that the international community, especially the US administration and the EU, are keen on making him succeed, and the fact that Fatah has no sources of funds other than what provides. 's real dilemma remains with Israel, which rejects even his appearance of moderation. Former Israeli education minister Yossi Sarid wrote an article recently stating: " will kill us with his moderation." Hence Israel, which controls the land, will not allow to accomplish his project that is the cause of such controversy amongst Palestinians.
