Hello From Rafah 2

Hamas checkpoint where they moniter and control movement

Dear all,

I hope this email again finds you all well. Things have calmed down tremendously in the last several days since Hamas's "victory." For the firs time since I got here 18 days ago, I was able to be out after dark and feel relatively safe. There wasn't any gun fire or people with AK 47s roaming the streets. This mainly because Fatah and Hamas are no longer shooting at each other and because folks in Gaza will tell you, Hamas is and will restore law and order.

Hamas has started going from house to house searching and collecting weapons in Gaza city and Khan Younis since Saturday and will continue to all of Gaza's camps. On Friday there were two rallies cheering Hamas's victory, and from talking to those in the rally, they are supporting Hamas because Hamas is cleaning up "Fatah's thieves" who collaborated with Israel and the US, but also because people feel safer now than they have for months. One man sitting next to me in the taxi yesterday said for the first time in months he isn't worried that his neighbor or cousin may shoot him over a minor feud or getting his car stolen or his daughters kidnapped. He feels safe.

Those supporting Fatah say this victory will not last and like the international media, refer to the recent events, as a "coup." And they'll say, "once Gazans taste starvation they'll be begging for Dahlan to come back." I'm not so sure about that. It feels Gazans can withstand any sort of collective punishment that Israel and the US has in store for them.

I'd like to comment briefly about the usage of the word "coup," only because here in Gaza, only Fatah supporters called it a "coup by the Islamic movement Hamas" as well as news sources who called me for comments. I think people tend to forget that Hamas is not just an Islamic movement, and whether not we agree with its Islamic agenda, it is a political party as well, representative of those people who voted for them. Additionally, they were democratically elected in an election that was enforced by democratic countries all over the world, and it is the failure of the international community to recognize the choice of the people that has placed Gaza in the situation that it is currently in, not the "coup." And as s result, the people of Gaza will suffer the consequences and endure a collective punishment of an economic embargo.

People are frantic, but I don't think they're scared; worried about the future, but not submitting to Israel or the US. People are certainly preparing for the worst. Those who can afford to are stocking up on flour and sugar, especially now that UNRWA has resumed its full duties since the fighting started. I found it hard to move around because the markets have been crowded with people as they prepare for a food and water shortages. Gaza's borders with Egypt and Israel have closed (the Rafah border has been closed for the past two weeks, Karni and Kerem Shalom closed last week). I also learned Israel cut off the gas and when I confirmed it with my aunt she said we have only a couple days of gas left. Egypt in alliance with the US and Israel is putting pressure on Hamas and therefore cutting off the electricity during the night (Rafah and Khan Younis gets its electricity from Egypt), which means we get a few hours of water a day because the electricity has to be strong enough to pump the water from the ground and since most houses are several floors up, water cant always reach....including ours.

Those who cannot afford to stock up worry about how they can feed their families, which is exactly where Israel and the US want us to be. No salaries, no money, no open borders, literally a prison where we live on little food and water and don't have time to plan or organize on how to get ourselves out of this situation. Starvation is the best strategy, but no one in Gaza will starve to death. Israel will cut off gas for a few days, then give us a little; cut off international food aid then allow a few trucks of flour and sugar in. Israel knows how many people are in Gaza and how much to allow in order to to give people a taste of hungry and despair, but not starvation.

And the international community is pushing for the two states, a Hamas Gaza and a Fatah West Bank and continue to speak of how different the two are and continue rallying around the US funded Fatah. So while Gaza is preparing for a humanitarian crisis, the US and Israel plan on how to further separate Palestinians in the the west bank and Gaza from each other so that we may not unify and we may forget about the occupation, and our right of return.

Myself, I'm doing very well and still very glad to be here.