Another Truce for Palestine?
After two days of fighting between Hamas and Fatah, claiming the lives of eight people, the two rival Palestinian groups have agreed on a truce. Egyptian mediators helped negotiate the truce late into Monday night, when representatives of the two organizations finalized the truce.
Independent politician Interior Minister Hani Qawasmi - who supervises the Palestinian government’s security forces - resigned amidst Monday’s violence, relegating control of the armed forces to Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas.
Former Minister Qawasmi resigned over lack of security in the Palestinian Authority; supposedly Fatah factions have been competiting for control of the security forces. Analysts say this may have been an attempt to undermine Hama’s authority in the troubled region.
Violence is not the only problem in Palestine territories, however; Palestinians do not share the same standard of living of their Jewish neighbors. While Israeli’s maintain an $18,620 gross national income (GNI) per capita, Palestinians earn only $1,120 - a $17,500 difference.
This disparity of income - in addition to Israel’s repressive actions, e.g. surrounding the Palestinian territories with cement walls, restricting movement and barring repatriation to the Gaza Strip or West Bank - should be looked at when determining solutions regarding the Palestinian people.
Article: Truce for Palestine?
Reference: Country Profiles: Israel and Palestine
This entry was contributed by Tony Cella.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
it is unlikely that the truce will survive unless the underlying causes for violence is resolved. we can hope but facts don’t add up to support the hope..