With every day that the politicians fudge and fumble, Gaza's needs go unmet, writes Saleh Al-Naami Despite his failing health, Mohamed Abd Rabbo, 65, is attempting to lift stones in a corner of his demolished house in the Jabalya Refugee Camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. He is looking for some blankets for his family that lives now in a nearby tent. Abd Rabbo's family of 10 has five blankets left, one for every two family members. Abd Rabbo cannot lift the big stones, and it is doubtful that, had he succeeded, he would have found anything. The bombs that were used in the shelling of his home have incinerated everything. By nightfall, Abd Rabbo and a group of neighbours gather around a fire. They exchange stories and trade jokes. Some say they heard that Israel and Hamas were coming close to a deal. A deal would mean a lot for them. You cannot build anything in Gaza unless you have the necessary material, and these have to come through the crossing points. Salah Salem, 49, lost his house in Gaza during the recent bombing. He tells me that a deal would be worth nothing unless it involves the opening of crossings and the resumption of all supplies needed for reconstruction. Well-informed Palestinian sources say that progress has been made. It all depends now on whether Israel shows flexibility on some of Hamas's demands. A Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Israel is likely to release hundreds of Palestinian detainees in return for captured soldier Gilad Shalit. Some points involve other parties than Israel and Hamas, and would take longer to sort out. One such point involves a ceasefire between Israel and all Palestinian resistance factions for a renewable period of 18 months. A comprehensive prisoner exchange seems to be a definite possibility, however, as Israel is unwilling to move ahead unless Shalit is released. Israel promised to release all the detainees Hamas wants with the exception of four: Ibrahim Hamad, the commander of Hamas's military arm in the West Bank who is accused of killing and wounding dozens of Israeli army personnel; Abbas Al-Sayed, a Hamas military leader in the West Bank serving a life sentence and accused of killing dozens of soldiers and settlers; Abdallah Al-Barghouti, a military leader serving a life sentence for allegedly killing soldiers and settlers; and Ahmed Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who is accused of ordering the killing of former Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. Israel may agree, in the end, to release the four men, but will ask that they stay in Gaza rather than return to their West Bank homes. As for agreement on the crossing points, a final deal is tricky because the 2005 US-brokered template agreement puts the Palestinian Authority (PA) in charge of the Rafah Crossing. This means that the opening of that particular crossing will depend on inter-Palestinian reconciliation talks. However, some news reports speak of a preliminary deal concerning the Rafah Crossing. Nonetheless, Mahmoud Abbas has made it clear that he cannot act on Rafah before a comprehensive deal is reached with Hamas. Abbas remains reluctant to talk to Hamas because of the latter's refusal to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Ayman Taha, a senior figure at Hamas, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Hamas wants to call a meeting of Egypt, Hamas, the PA and the EU to agree on a formula for Rafah. Taha said that Abbas was procrastinating on that meeting, so Gaza would remain under blockade. Despite the recriminations, there are signs that Hamas and the PA may soon resume national dialogue. Mediators are said to be currently trying to narrow the gap between Hamas and the PA. Nehad Al-Sheikh Khalil, Palestinian researcher and author, says that efforts are underway to stop the smear campaigns on both sides and that the Palestinians have a good chance of patching up their differences, especially if they act while Israel is busy with the elections. Another encouraging sign is that the Obama administration seems less opposed to inter-Palestinian reconciliation than the Bush administration was. The Quartet may also be about to change its position on Hamas. In an interview with The Times, Tony Blair hinted that Hamas might be engaged in talks under the "right conditions". The former UK prime minister, who is the Quartet's point man on the Palestinian issue, refrained from reiterating the Quartet's usual conditions; namely, that Hamas renounce "terror" and recognise Israel first. Until an agreement is reached on the crossing and the blockade is lifted, Gaza inhabitants depend mostly on whatever international assistance Israel allows to pass. The crisis between the dismissed Haniyeh government and UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency) seems to have defused. UNRWA had accused Hamas of stealing trucks bearing international relief supplies. Hamas said it didn't order such a move and that the whole thing was a mistake committed by a few police officers. Neither the Haniyeh government nor UNRWA was available for further comment. International assistance alone is not enough to meet Gaza's needs. The Palestinians are therefore still smuggling supplies through tunnels. The tunnels still operate, despite heavy Israeli bombardment during the recent fighting. Israeli planes have bombarded the border area with hundreds of bombs weighing one tonne each in the hope of destroying the tunnels. A merchant with close knowledge of the smuggling operations told the Weekly that although the bombardment damaged the tunnels it has not put them out of business. The increased amount of smuggled Egyptian fuel is testament that the tunnels are still operational. Walk down Saladin Road, the main north- south artery in the Strip, and you'll notice groups of young men standing near barrels and jerry cans filled with gasoline, diesel and kerosene. The Palestinians call them mobile gas stations, and they are cheaper than regular ones. Some mobile stations sell a litre of gasoline for three shekels ($0.75), down from six shekels ($1.5) a few weeks ago.
