Garbage rots in Gaza as workers walk out

[oberliner]

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The smell of festering garbage, dead animals and burning trash hung over Gaza City on Thursday, the result of the latest strike by civil servants demanding that the Hamas-led government pay them their long-overdue salaries.

Municipal workers responsible for garbage collection, water treatment, and sewage processing went on strike in Gaza City and two other southern towns three days ago. The action — along with a broader strike threat by other unions linked to the opposition
Fatah Party — has been widely viewed as a tactic to force Hamas to give in to demands to form a national unity government.

Since the strike started, garbage has flooded large bins on street corners and gathered nearby in piles, some six feet high. A dead cow rotted by the side of the road in one middle-class neighborhood.

Policemen and guards cover their faces with tissues when they stand outside for long periods of time, while some residents burn the garbage, adding to the rancid smell already hovering over Gaza City.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_garbage

[MADem]

1. Say whatcha want about Yassir and all the money he siphoned,

he at least paid the trash collectors! Of course, he renounced violence, and recongnized Israel's right to exist, which kept the cash flowing. HAMAS won't do that. And, in "solidarity," Palestinians aren't bothering to pay their taxes, either. What a situation!

And THIS will be a hoot to see:

Hamas said its members, including legislators, would clean up Gaza's streets on Friday, calling the garbage strike a "sabotage attempt."