peace process would require the Israeli citizens to be on board with the idea. Nihal Ibrahim is a young woman living in Ramallah and works for one of the civil society institutions. She notes that tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have simmered down recently. However, many grassroots Palestinians are still uneasy with the idea of adapting and living with Israelis.
?WHAT ABOUT THE GAZA STRIP The Gaza Strip is a difficult topic to address for a number of reasons. For one thing, the region is controlled by the Islamist resistance movement Hamas, which rejects the idea of Israeli statehood altogether. Furthermore, the group has conducted many military attacks on Israel in the past decade or so. Another reason that makes reconcilation between the Gaza Strip and Israel difficult is the presence of a military blockade between them which the latter controls. This blockade ensures
In spite of these difficulties, there is a glimmer of hope of talks between Israel and Hamas. Israel recently allowed the entry of medical and monetary aid to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
that only individuals with special permits are allowed to move through the border, this contrasts with the border between Israel and the West Bank where movement of people is much easier. The blockade started in 2006 after Hamas kidnapped an Israeli soldier from one of the military posts situated at the border. The increased Fatah-Hamas tensions since 2007 have resulted in a political crisis which in turn led to continued Fatah rule in the West Bank and a Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip. Since then the Gaza Strip has been further seculuded from both Palestinian and Israeli leadership. In spite of these difficulties, there is a glimmer of hope of talks between Israel and Hamas. Israel recently allowed the entry of medical and monetary aid to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Al-Sinwar, recently appeared live on the local Al-Aqsa satellite channel said that there’s am initiative to start negotiations with Israel on the subject of Israeli soldiers that are held hostage in Gaza. This, of course, is one of the most complex issues of the ongoing disputes between Israel and Hamas. He also said that both sides can potentially do a prisoner exchange, and he noted that Israel already takes a humintarian stance with regards to prisioners. This is because Israel releases Palestinian prisoners who are sick, elderly or women, as such Al-Sinwar said a partial prisoner exchange would be possible on such a basis. He did, nevertheless, leave a ominous message in the interview stating that “the Hebrew state would have to pay a hefty price for such a prisoner exchange”, and he did not specify what he meant by that. If a prisoner exchange goes without a hitch, then we might witness a resurgence of popularity for Hamas in Gaza and negative sentiments towards Israel might also fall.
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17/04/20
Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Ibrahim Molhim (Majalla)
