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In a matter of weeks, rage replaced romance in GazaEditor's note: CNN Interactive Associate Editor Dana Rosenblatt visited Gaza on September 10, a little more than two weeks before violence broke out between Palestinians and Israelis. Back in Atlanta on October 3, she interviewed Ashraf Abu-Shaban, the owner and operator of an Internet cafe in Gaza City, by telephone for this report.
GAZA CITY, GAZA (CNN) -- Feverishly sorting through his e-mail, Ashraf Abu-Shaban replied to messages of concern from his friends living abroad, who sat glued to news reports on their television sets. The sharply-dressed 20-something proprietor of the Cyber Internet Cafe in Gaza City took a moment to shift his attention to the latest developments in the violence that has rocked the city in which he was born and raised. The place Abu-Shaban was proud to call home resembles a city under siege, ravaged from days of fighting between Israeli security forces and Palestinians.
"I have never seen a situation like this," Abu-Shaban said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "I have lived in Gaza my whole life, and nothing can compare to this situation. It's really hard hard days." The clashes have left at least 88 people dead and more than 2,500 people injured, most Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, since September 28. All but four of those killed have been Palestinians or Israeli Arabs. Violence began after Sharon visitThe violence started after Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited a disputed site in east Jerusalem. Future control of the site -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Al Haram al-Sharif -- is a major obstacle to a final status peace accord between the Israelis and Palestinians. Sharon's visit sparked a wave of heated protests from Palestinians, who regarded it as a provocation at a crucial time in the peace negotiations. Palestinians said Sharon's visit "defiled" the site, which is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Since the protests and violence erupted, the streets of Gaza City have become a veritable ghost town -- except for the two or three customers at Abu-Shaban's cafe who communicate to relatives via e-mail. Palestinian youths chanting anti-Israeli slogans and burning tires in the deserted streets strike a contrast to the multitudes of Gazans who just weeks ago crowded the fashionable cafes and shops of El-Remal, one of Gaza's wealthier neighborhoods. Last leisurely days of summerImages from September 10 of carefree young couples sporting the latest fashions, savoring the last leisurely days of summer on the Mediterranean coast, holding hands and eating ice cream seemed a distant memory. That Sunday in September, the Cyber Internet Cafe was teeming with young professionals and students sipping tea and discussing the latest sports scores and stock market quotes. Gazans appeared then in the midst of a newly-discovered renaissance -- a social and economic rebirth for a city that had been scarred from the unrest of the Intifada, the uprising that raged in the region from 1987 to 1993. Anticipating a declaration of statehoodGazans had joined media crews set up outside Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's majestic seaside headquarters waiting to hear whether a declaration of Palestinian statehood would come on September 13, as Arafat had said it might. Built from Jerusalem stone, the headquarters itself symbolizes the desire for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem, or Al-Quds, as its capital. The mood was pensive as Gazans awaited news of their fate while Palestinian leaders met for hours to discuss the next pivotal step toward the goal of statehood. Just a few kilometers away at the Internet cafe, Tariq Hajja, a technical school graduate, shared the latest scores from his favorite soccer team with Abu-Shaban. Like many Gazans, they were not surprised by the eventual decision to delay a formal declaration of statehood. Arafat and Palestinian lawmakers decided to push back the declaration to allow more time for the peace negotiations. "We need a state, yes, but every time we hear the same promise, the same talking," Mohammed said. He hesitated and scratched his goatee, saying, "Each human being must have a country. I was born in 1975 and never felt like I had a country." Abu-Shaban had expressed his doubts that Palestinian statehood would be realized as promised. "People don't want the president and the (Palestinian) Authority to say they are going to declare a state on that day and then change their mind. I want the state to be a strong one. ... If we can have a stronger state later on, then I prefer to wait." Outside the cafe, the methodical rhythm of fingers tapping on the keyboard was drowned out by an enchanting song echoed from a Gaza minaret. The afternoon call to prayer, "Allahu akbar" (God is great), escalated to a lamenting decree. 'The situation is completely different now'Weeks later, the call to prayer turned into a battle cry as masses of Palestinians took to the streets in waves of anti-Israeli demonstrations. Most were armed with stones, some with weapons as they raised their fists to the air and shouted the same decree, "Allahu akbar." "The situation is completely different now," Abu-Shaban said over the phone. "All the stores have been closed for four days now, and there are no people on the streets except for demonstrators. They are showing their anger against what is happening." Abu-Shaban keeps his cafe open. He says people go there to share their emotions about the situation via the Internet. Abu-Shaban says the image of the frightened 12-year old Mohammed al-Dura, cowering under gunfire as his father tried in vain to protect him during Saturday's confrontation in Netzarim, is an image that haunts residents of Gaza. Mohammed was killed, and his father critically injured. The Israeli army said the youth was apparently hit by Israeli fire. Israel's deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, expressed "deep sorrow" and said a sniper had apparently mistaken the child for a gunman. Abu-Shaban, speaking in the phone interview, said, " My 5-year old nephew has been waking up with very bad dreams. He says he dreams that the Israelis are coming and will hit him with a very hard ball." He adds, "I have lived in Gaza for 27 years; there were very bad days during the Intifada, but I've never seen anything like these days." Abu-Shaban says his fellow Palestinians "watch the TV, they see these kids get killed, so they say, 'What the heck, I am going to fight, I am going to throw stones.'" An 'accumulation of anger and frustration'A Palestinian analyst says Palestinians' anger and frustration had been building for some time, although it may have been intensified by Sharon's visit. He believes that after the promise of an independent Palestinian state was delayed, resentment snowballed into the violent clashes. "There was a very clear growing frustration, and all of us were suggesting that this will come up to the surface, nobody will know when and how," said Ghassan Khatib, lecturer of Cultural Studies at Berzeit University and Director of Jerusalem Media and Communications Center. "Many of us noticed this accumulation of anger and frustration," Khatib said. "In our public opinion polls it was very clear that there is a decline in the level of support to the peace process..." 'We are sacrificing our lives'Back at the Cyber Internet Cafe in Gaza, Abu-Shaban said, "We are sacrificing our lives here. I saw one woman ... she lost her son. She said she would sacrifice all her sons for our statehood. "People are saying they want their statehood, they say they will do it by peace, but if peace doesn't work, they will sacrifice their lives." RELATED STORIES: Paris talks will seek to defuse worsening Mideast violence RELATED SITES: Live Western Wall Camera at Aish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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