Haniya in the Eid prayer: Let's shake hands and let love and harmony prevail

13 October 2007

As Muslims marked the Eid el-Fitr holiday with gifts and feasts on Friday, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip felt the tightening grip of an Israeli embargo and mourned the dead the Zionist daily crimes in the Palestinian countries and cities.

There were no reports of trouble as people gathered to mark what should be one of the happiest days of the year, the fear was never far from the surface in the coastal enclave of 1.5 million.

Haniyeh renewed his message to thousands of worshippers assembled for prayers, telling them: "There are wounds in every house but we need to rise above the pain. Let's shake hands and let love and harmony prevail."

But there is little sign Abbas is ready to listen.

His moves to isolate Hamas have won him the promise of talks on a peace deal with Israel and an end to international sanctions in the West Bank that were imposed on Palestinian areas after Hamas won a parliamentary election last year.

In the West Bank, Palestinians were more upbeat as people got together for family celebrations.

But Gaza's borders have been virtually sealed to all but essential supplies, casting a shadow over the holiday.

New clothes, a traditional purchase at this time of year, were hard to find in Gaza this week and prices for old stock had also risen sharply.

"People are poor, they are virtually dead. Parents can hardly feed their children," said mother-of-five Umm Mohammad as she hunted bargains on Thursday. "Sometimes you have to choose between food and new clothes."

Many Palestinians choose to visit family graves, especially those of "martyrs" killed in the conflict with the Zionist forces as 33 Palestinians were killed by the occupation forces during the holy month of Ramadan and hundreds others were killed during the year.