Palestinian Hospital Blood Shortage

Economic sanctions, civil war and political stalemate have Palestinians furious with both Fatah and Hamas - but with no alternatives in sight

BY SONIA VERMA

January 2, 2007

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - As chief surgeon of Gaza's main hospital, Jumaa al-Saqqa is used to blaming international sanctions against the Hamas-led Palestinian government for shortages of medicine and supplies to treat his patients.

But as fighting raged in recent weeks between rival Palestinian factions, his emergency room overflowed with dozens of wounded and the soft-spoken surgeon faced a new problem: a shortage of blood.

This time, the doctor laid blame squarely on Fatah and Hamas. "Our blood bank is nearly empty," said al-Saqqa, 47, furrowing his brow. "It's a message from the people. They are refusing to donate blood to protest the clashes. "

During an Israeli incursion, the hospital typically collects thousands of blood units. At the height of the recent inter-Palestinian fighting, it received only 25. For Palestinian society, accustomed to blaming its problems on the Israeli occupation, the blood-bank protest points to a wider trend: Fed up with economic sanctions, political deadlock and factional fighting, Palestinians are rejecting their own political leadership - both the Fatah and Hamas parties.

Frustrated citizens

Frustration is feeding a backlash that crosses factional lines and could scramble old allegiances in the buildup to a Palestinian election. "There is an enormous amount of anger toward both parties," said Ghassan Katib, director of the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center. "They blame the leadership for the violence and see all of this fighting as pointless. "

A recent poll by the center found a growing majority of Palestinians have lost faith in both parties: If an election were held today, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party would virtually tie with the militant Hamas in votes.

But internecine fighting has eroded support for both sides. About a third of those surveyed said they would boycott elections - a sign of growing unease with both parties, which would each capture about 27 percent of the vote. The results of the poll, which surveyed 12,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza last week, suggest both Fatah and Hamas face an uphill battle to shore up support if Abbas makes good on his threat of three weeks ago to hold a fresh election in the new year.

But, as Katib pointed out, disenfranchised voters have nowhere else to turn. "There is no alternative to Fatah and Hamas, so people find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place," he said.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, that sentiment echoed across the marketplace on a busy Saturday morning, days after fierce fighting between Hamas and Fatah spilled onto the streets.

"As citizens, we feel trapped," said Yousef Abu Muneef, 37, a burly firefighter sipping coffee from a plastic cup. "We have never felt like this before - so disturbed at both sides using our city to wage their civil war. " A lifelong Fatah supporter, he vowed to boycott any new elections as a way to punish the party.

Muneef's words sparked anxious talk among his friends of further fighting - a fear that still runs deep in the Palestinian territories despite a shaky cease-fire that has mostly quelled the violence.

Unstable situation

"The situation is very unstable for all of us," said Imally Yousef, 50, a mother of seven who voted for Hamas in the last election. Her husband, a government worker, has gone without a paycheck since March because of an economic boycott by Israel and the West. Financial hardship has forced Yousef to reconsider her loyalties. "Unfortunately, our leadership has no integrity. I have no doubt the fighting will continue even though such fighting is forbidden in our society. "

Spokesmen from Fatah and Hamas would not comment on the survey and angrily denied their support was melting away.

Khalil Abu Arafeh, a popular political cartoonist for the Palestinian daily al-Quds, is one of the few figures to publicly challenge Palestinian political leaders in the pages of his newspaper.

"Nobody wants fighting on the streets, but people are afraid to openly criticize the parties," he said. "They fear reprisals. "

A recent cartoon features a man pointing to the sky, speaking to his wife and children. In the background, a torch burns in the shape of the Star of David. Underneath is the phrase: "Israel's nuclear weapon.

"The man says: "The most dangerous weapon threatening the Palestinian people ...

"But his wife finishes his sentence for him " ... is chaos."