Left waiting
Immediate economic conditions in Gaza appear largely dependent on Abbas accepting the invitation of Hamas to reach rapprochement, writes Saleh Al-Naami
Although they knew the chances of success were near nil, Munir Al-Areir and his cousin Mustafa, who come from Al-Shajaiya in eastern Gaza City, were among dozens of Palestinians who insisted on waiting in front of the Salaheddin Gate at the Gaza-Egyptian border on Monday morning. Despite agreement between Egypt and Ismail Haniyeh's government to reseal the crossing, Al-Areir refused to let the flicker of hope he'd had of extricating himself -- even temporarily -- from his life's destitution die out.
"Before they opened the border, I was unemployed and my family and I were living off charity. When they opened it, I would return home every day with $100 in my pocket. My life changed completely and now it's hard to imagine that my source of income has suddenly been cut off again." The 45-year-old merchant had sold his wife's jewellery in order to get back into business. He purchased various goods from Northern Sinai -- tobacco, almonds, livestock and even diesel -- to sell back in Gaza. His prospects were looking so good that he was able to buy his four school-age children new clothes. Like most others in front of the Salaheddin Gate, Al-Areir hopes that the border crossing will soon work normally as Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zaher promised.
Another whose life was temporarily turned around by the collapse of the border was Nahed Al-Masri, who freights scrap metal in his pick-up from Gaza into Egypt. Al-Masri deplored the way the border was opened. It was embarrassing to Palestinians and Egyptians alike, he said. But, he added, the blockade forced the Palestinians to break out, and if the border remains closed and Israel keeps up its harsh siege the Palestinians will be forced to do so again. "My income before the border opened was zero. During the 12 days it was opened I made no less than $100 a day. Why should we have to go back to that misery again?" he asked.
Ibrahim Shashi was also able to take advantage of the brief window of freedom. He owns a donkey cart and supports a family of 12 by transporting goods from the Egyptian side of Rafah to the Palestinian side. During the period the border was open his daily income skyrocketed from just over a dollar a day to $75 a day. "People are willing to wait a little to let the authorities open the borders officially and legally," he said. "But if things go on [this way] for too long, I will be one of the people who'll be at the border trying to rescue my family from the poverty we live in."
Others beyond those whose businesses are affected -- directly or indirectly -- by the open or closed status of the border. Salim Abuy Mudafie owns and operates a minibus on the Gaza City-Khan Yunis route. "There's almost no diesel left in Gaza. If the border doesn't open again, and stay open, I and other drivers won't be able to work," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.
For most Gazans the issue is not whether Hamas or Fatah controls the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing. They merely want it to remain open. Nevertheless, according to Abdul-Razeq Abu Jazar, a journalist who resides in Rafah, practical circumstances dictate that Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should retain authority over the crossing, even though Abu Jazar recognises that Hamas's electoral victory gives it the right to have a say on all matters of concern to the Palestinian people. Above all, there can be no return to the terms of the previous -- if largely unimplemented -- agreement on movement and access, which gave Israel too much control over the crossing.
Said Jamal, a bookstore proprietor in Al-Ramal, is of the same opinion. The old agreement was detrimental Palestinian welfare, he said, adding that it was originally signed on the assumption that it would be subject to review every six months, to ensure that it conformed to the needs of the people in Gaza. Whereas Jamal held that Abbas and the Haniyeh government needed to work together towards a solution, Abdul-Salam Abu Khosa, a civil servant, stressed that this was precisely where the crux of the problem lay. The Rafah crossing will never reopen as long as that is contingent on the resumption of dialogue between Hamas and Abbas, he said.
Palestinian political commentator Talal Okal also felt that the chances of Rafah reopening were slim in the foreseeable future. At the same time, he cautioned Palestinians against turning their anger against Egypt in the event that the Gaza- Egyptian border remains closed. Egypt can help, he said, but it should not be expected to go beyond its commitments as a bordering country, he said. He further cautioned against promoting Gaza as an independent entity, separate from the West Bank, especially if it became more closely linked to Egypt economically.
Statements attributed to Ahmed Youssef, political advisor to Prime Minister Haniyeh, to the effect that the Hamas government plans to economically disengage from Israel and strengthen economic ties with Egypt triggered angry reactions among Palestinian economic experts. Although Youssef was later to say that his statements were taken out of context, Hani Habib, a writer specialising in economic affairs, described them as "utter nonsense" and "indicative of the state of confusion to which Hamas has sunk since it won the legislative elections". He went on to say that to economically disengage from Israel would intersect perfectly with Israel's own goals.
"Disengagement from the Israeli economy and linkage with the Egyptian economy before reaching a solution to the conflict with Israel will be used by Israel to cover up prolonging its occupation. The best proof of this is that Israel welcomed the idea," he told the Weekly.
Another economic expert, Omar Shaban, also believes that linking the Palestinian and Egyptian economies is a bad idea. His reasons, however, are more economic than political. In his opinion, the two economies are too similar to stimulate a robust trading relationship. He feared, in particular, that since Egyptian products were cheaper than Palestinian ones, Palestinian consumers would abandon Palestinian-made products for Egyptian-made ones, to the detriment of the Palestinian productive base. He urged politicians to keep their focus on ending the occupation first, instead of creating confusion over economic problems resulting from the occupation.
According to Haniyeh's economic advisor, Ala Al-Araj, whether the border with Egypt remains closed or not, the Hamas government in Gaza will not give up its "struggle" to end the economic boycott imposed by Israel. In interview with the Weekly he added, "we are confident that the border crossing will be reopened. There will be no need for a repetition of what happened recently, because the Egyptian government is aware of the urgent need to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza."
Clearly, Palestinians in Gaza know that blowing up border walls will not solve their problems. Their hopes are therefore pinned on the ability of Fatah and Hamas leaders to come to an agreement over a formula that will permit for the official reopening of the Rafah crossing. Sadly, at least in the short term, such hopes appear optimistic at best.
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