| Show Israelis leave Gaza amidst large kl j pressure j j y from p Palestine Mona Eltahawy Special Spec to The Washington Post Watching I Israeli soldiers dragging Jewish settlers from Gaza was was' a reminder of just how much Palestinians and Israelis need each other Without the enemy Israelis and Palestinians would divide along the fault lines that are barely concealed beneath the face of unity they put up to confront each other And there is no bigger fault line than the secular religious crack that exists in both Israeli and Palestinian soci soci- When I lived in Jerusalem in 1998 many of my Israeli friends were clear in their contempt for the settlers They could not understand them least of all their religious religious religious reli reli- zeal Many in Israel hope now that we are beginning beginning begin begin- ning a process of being normal normal normal nor nor- mal one of them said to me last week I mean that until now the settlers imposed on onus onus onus us their agenda and there were two types of laws and andrules andrules andrules rules for the p people ople and fo for r them We hope that the priorities priorities priorities will change The secular religious confrontation confrontation confrontation con con- in Israeli society does not always take suc such h hs dramatic turns as the scenes scene s we saw from Gaza but it its it's s there Jerusalem's ultra ultra- orthodox Mea Sheari m neighborhood is is' often th the e scene of confrontations confrontation between Sabbath observing g residents and secular Jews Jew gs s whose cars they pelt with stones for driving on a Saturday Mea residents residents residents resi resi- dents will also often berate berat e women whom they consider r immodestly dressed Religious fundamentalists fundamentalist s are much the same every every- where In the Israeli Israeli- Palestinian conflict fundamentalist fundamentalist fundamentalist funda funda- mentalist Jews and fundamentalist fundamentalist fundamentalist funda funda- mentalist Muslims are often ofte n each others' others mirror images Which takes me to th the e question that everyone i in n Palestinian society should be asking now that Israel has completed its withdrawal withdraw withdraw- al from Gaza When push comes to shove will the Palestinian Authority confront confront con con- confront front its fundamentalists inthe in inthe inthe the same way that Israel confronted the religious zealots in the settlements When the greater good of Palestinians is at stake is the Palestinian Authority willing to curb the activities of Hamas the militant Islamic organization Hamas Mamas is trying to portray Israels Israel's unilateral withdrawal withdraw withdraw- al from Gaza as a victory for its campaign of violence and terrorism Any such victory victory victory vic vic- tory for Hamas would be a defeat for the Palestinian people They have been caught between the brutality of the Israeli occupation and Hamas' Hamas bloodletting which brought nothing but more Israeli violence against the Palestinians The second pro and inspired by Hamas' Hamas was tactics a failure failure failure fail fail- ure and a disaster for Palestinians ns Unlike the first which galvanized world opinion for the children children children chil dren of the rocks the second second second sec sec- ond was an exercise in nihilism that hurt the Palestinians more than it helped them The Palestinian Authority under the late Yasser Vasser Arafat must bear its responsibility too Its corruption and lac lack k of democracy and transparency transparency transparency trans trans- left a vacuum that Hamas was all too willing and ready to fill Now a Gaza free of settlers settlers set set- tiers and soldiers is Mahmoud Abbas' Abbas chance to show Palestinians how far he is willing to go to assert his authority If Abbas doubts for a second how important it is to curb the religious zealotry of Hamas he need only remember Yusra 20 who was Gaza Conton Page 11 L Gaza F Conton Page 8 Yusra 20 who was shot dead earlier this year by Hamas gunmen for immoral behavior days before her wedding She was sitting in a car with her sister her fiance and his brother when masked Hamas gunmen forced their c car car ito to a Gaza neighborhood neigh neigh- and killed her When the settlers and soldiers soldiers soldiers sol sol- diers were were still in Gaza these kinds of crimes were easier to conceal Palestinian families that have suffered at the hands of Hamas have long been intimidated into silence for forthe forthe forthe the sake of Palestine With the settlers and soldiers gone from Gaza Hamas' Hamas zealotry must be curbed for forthe forthe forthe the sake of Palestine and its people The best way to strengthen strength strength- en Abbas' Abbas hand would be to tomake tomake tomake make life better for Palestinians Gaza needs investment if Abbas is to deliver r the the omes and a d' d Jobs Job's that he promised its people even as Israeli soldiers were clearing the settlements The international community community community com com- can show its confidence confidence confidence dence in the Palestinian people by directing some money their way and the Palestinian Authority can return that confidence by ensuring that every cent goes into the future of Gaza and not toward building more villas for Palestinian officials The United States must push the Israelis and Palestinians into looking farther along the peace road map toward a Palestinian ia i stat slate alongside lo gs di a a secure Israel Both sides in inthis inthis inthis this long decades-long conflict can do more to help their people realize a future of peace Looking ahead will require much looking with with- in to repair the fault lines that lie beneath Religious zealots among Israelis and Palestinians must not be allowed to act as roadblocks roadblocks roadblocks road road- blocks on the way to peace The writer is a New York- York based columnist for the pan-Arab pan al newspaper Her Web site is |
