In the shadow of fragmentation

[Violet_Crumble]

Yesterday's terrorist attack in Be'er Sheva contradicts Palestinian spokesmen's oft-repeated statements declaring that the cease-fire must be maintained. No one wants to spoil the planned celebrations of the liberation of Gaza and the preparations for Palestinian parliamentary elections, set to take place in less than five months.

Palestinians' expectations for what will soon happen in Gaza are soaring. Rumors circulating among their journalists over the past weekend speculated that the Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who is arriving in Gaza today, would look into, among other things, the possibility of President Hosni Mubarak visiting the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the declaration of Palestinian independence there. There were even some who said that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas spoke last week in Cairo with Mubarak about the possibility of convening an Arab summit in Gaza. Official spokesmen, however, denied this, but rumors of this sort are indicative of the mood on the Palestinian street prior to the completion of Israel's withdrawal from the Strip.

Even Hamas activists in Gaza understand that in the current situation, it is better to talk less about an intifada against Israel - and to warn of an intifada against senior Palestinian officials if they do not cease their corrupt ways. "There will be a huge popular uprising if the PA does not see to the needs of the entire nation," said Fathi Hamad, a Hamas activist from the Jabalya refugee camp.

The hope that quiet will prevail in Gaza is mixed among the Palestinians with fears that the price they may end up paying for the withdrawal will be unbearable. These fears are evident in the Palestinian press' prominent coverage of a report that responsibility on the Israeli side of the Erez checkpoint would be transferred from the security forces to the Ministry of Interior. In other words, the checkpoint would turn into a border crossing - like the kind that separates countries and where passports are inspected and stamped. Foreigners, Israelis and Palestinians as well, who pass through Erez will be treated like those going through a border crossing.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/618204.html