Amazing post, Hani. Thanks for sharing this. You weren't kidding that Hassan is a "stand-up guy" -- risking his life to help a relative who obviously has conflicting (if not outright opposing) views on the present and future of Palestinian politics get out of Gaza. What compounds the desperation of this situation is of course that it assumes the Israelis would let Ahmad cross Erez and get to Ramallah, something I'm sure Hassan and Ahmad discussed. I hope they're both safe and everything works out for the both of them.

If a majority of Americans wanted to ape some other country, that's what would happen.

Except that that's definitely not true. Even if we just look at something less drastic than an overhaul of the political system, and even less drastic than a complete tearing down of the health care model, we can see that the views of the majority are not being represented or acted upon by our elected leaders. A CBS/New York Times poll conducted through June 12 - June 16 of this year showed that 64% of Americans believe that the "government should guarantee health insurance for all Americans", which could be construed as implementing a form of universal health care, thus "aping some other country". The earliest figure listed was for 1996, showing 56% in favor of the same question, with rates steadily increasing since then.

As far as the two-party duopoly goes, a USA Today/Gallup poll from 2007 showed that 58% of Americans want a viable third party in the political sphere, and that "just a third say the [Democrats and Republicans] do an adequate job of representing the American people." Going on opinion polls, I'd say a majority of Americans want a fair number of things that aren't getting done in Washington.

*Waits for PC to ignore everything I wrote and say something about Hajj Radwan and my support of "terrorists"*

Wow, good eye...

I'm surprised they didn't label Jordan as the "home of the 'Palestinians'" (emphasis on Palestinians surrounded by quotes).

Great post, Fayyad. It must always go hand in hand with any Gaza-related action that the assault on Gaza and the blockade are part of a campaign perpetrated against all of Palestine for the better part of a century. It must be explained that the severity of violence against the Palestinians in the physically disconnected occupied territories (excluding the Golan, Sheba'a Farms & al Ghajar) follows a cyclical pattern, jumping from one region to the next, but the entire Palestinian people is being oppressed simultaneously at all times by Israel, through intricate, sophisticated and methodically-designed means.

I too worry what the next generation of activists are learning and what they're not learning, and that's why we try to recruit and take those recruits "under our wing", so to speak, and disseminate literature and quality reading lists, along with having discussions at organizers' meetings, social functions, and over e-mail. One can't control how everyone thinks though. As long as we each do our part, I think we'll facilitate the next generation to educate themselves properly on the truth facing Palestine today as well as a factual account of its history, and train them to be effective and passionate activists.

As far as pronunciations go, well, barely anyone in the U.S. pronounces "Gaza/3'aza" correctly even now, and that hasn't stopped anyone from getting out to demonstrations :P

Well, one for two ain't bad

That's a pretty wild story, Hani. It gives one a little window into the inner politics of the PA factions and their biases. I agree it's really strange that Fatah would be okay with your cousin being associated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad but not Hamas, since the former has been known to work with Hamas in Gaza, and if I know this as an American amateur political analyst, I assume Fatah knows infinitely more about it than I do.

Thanks for the post, and keep them coming!

So nevermind all the arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, maimings by shooting, and extrajudicial executions - nevermind all the attacks on political opponents

Wait, are we talking about Hamas or Israel?

Seriously though, as for the the rockets that "brought the terrible war", history has shown that even when Palestinians are being docile and accepting of the occupation, the Israeli government continues to wall them off into civil and economic hardship, and expand into their territory. With that expansion comes Palestinian reactionary violence anyway. Gideon Levy wrote about this back in 2006, that Israel and the world would simply ignore the Palestinians if they weren't firing Qassams -- and not "ignore" as in "leave them alone". You may find the "bargaining chip" rationale crude, heartless even, but it's nothing more than an explanation of a political motive behind the Qassams.

How can I deny or confirm that Hamas is an "Islamofascist" organization when such a term is a completely meaningless Western Neoconservative construct with obviously pejorative connotation? It's like asking me to confirm or deny someone "hates love". Hamas has an Islamic ideology, yes, and incorporates it into its government. Fascist? I think not. The party has proven itself willing and able to participate in and honor the democratic process, even if the U.S. and Israel aren't willing to honor its participation. Any citations of "maiming by shooting" or "extrajudicial executions" you can bring forth came about during the Hamas-Fatah conflict, when the U.S. and Israel were pumping money into Fatah to violently usurp Hamas' democratically-given right to lead to the PA. As of right now, Hamas allows Fatah members fair freedom of movement in Gaza, from what I've read. The same certainly cannot be said of Fatah allowing Hamas members freedom of movement, or any other types of freedom (for instance, freedom to stay alive) in the West Bank.

Would the people of Gaza vote for Hamas again if they could? I have no idea, I haven't seen any polls with questions of that nature, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say probably yes. Fatah is still seen as just as corrupt and inept as ever, and Hamas has been working hard with international aid organizations to rebuild Gaza as best it can. I think the people of Gaza have seen this, and they well recognize the true impasse in the peace process is coming from the Israeli camp, not from their elected Palestinian leadership (Hamas).

Now I have some reading material for you, since you're constantly battering us with links, and I read them every time despite suspecting I'll strongly disagree with whatever's written: Hamas Debates the Future (PDF)

What, you mean you don't share PETA's opinion that a Muslim family slaughtering a lamb in accordance with Zahiba is more offensive than KFC's campaign of raising a steroid-infused, beakless Jaish al-Frareej* for profit?

* Did I say that right? I'm still learning :P

From a source link on Muzzlewatch: The project is described in the government budget for 2009 as the “Internet fighting team” – a name that was given to it in order to distinguish it from the existing policy-explanation team, among other reasons, so that it can receive a separate budget.

LOL "Internet Fighting Team"