Palestinian anger turns toward Hamas

NABLUS, West Bank -- For the first time, large numbers of Palestinians are beginning to direct their widespread frustration toward the Islamist militant movement Hamas for its seeming inability to alleviate the suffering of ordinary Palestinians since it took over the reins of government early this year.

Many residents and political analysts say the radical religious movement that scored a surprise victory in January has proven to have neither a reform plan nor an effective strategy to counter the international embargo imposed by Israel, the United States, and the European Union because of Hamas's refusal to renounce terrorism and recognize Israel's right to exist.

An estimated 40,000 teachers are on strike because they haven't been paid for months. The price of flour has soared nearly 50 percent. Economic activity is nearing a standstill in both Gaza and the West Bank, where many shops remain shuttered and men and schoolchildren alike mill about idly in the midday heat.

``Hamas deceived the people during the election," said Anan Afteereh Gadri , a member of the government employees union. ``People voted for economic opportunity. The change has been for the worse."

Such critics say Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel has choked off any chance for negotiations or relief from the intrusive Israeli security measures that are intended to rein in suicide bombers and other Palestinian militants.

Conflict within Palestinian society is worsening as the Israeli military has stepped up its operations against Palestinian militants, following the kidnapping of an army corporal on the Israeli side of the Gaza border in June. Clashes in Gaza and the West Bank since then have killed more than 200 Palestinians. Five Hamas militants and a 16-year-old boy were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza this week, and four Palestinians were slain yesterday -- at least two of them suspected militants -- in the West Bank town of Jenin.

Much of the Palestinians' ire is aimed at the international community and Israel for depriving Hamas of funding for salaries and other ordinary government functions. The continued stranglehold is on display in Nablus at the eight Israeli Army checkpoints that ring the West Bank city of 140,000. Even before the teachers went on strike, many had to travel up to three hours a day through military checkpoints to get to school, often missing much of the day.

But across the Palestinian territories, there are signs of a growing disaffection with Hamas that was unthinkable seven months ago, when Hamas sailed into power.

Nearly 5,000 Palestinian police, demanding their overdue salaries, marched through the streets of Gaza City on Tuesday, firing into the air, throwing rocks at the Parliament building, and shutting down the center of the city. The protest was the most intense outburst of anger at the Hamas government since the government workers' strikes began last week. Yesterday, about 30 members of the staff of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas , leader of the opposition Fatah movement that controlled Palestinian politics for decades, also went on strike to protest Hamas policies.

The rising frustration was clear at the local Education Department this week.

``We have a right to our salaries," said Aziza Sulieman , who teaches English in the nearby village of Burin , as she waited anxiously to petition the director.

Suha Salim , a 34-year-old math teacher, said he hasn't received a paycheck in seven months. And Iman Iskendar , who teaches in the village of Awarta , said the situation was dire before Hamas took office, but ``things are now worse."

Many of the protests are being orchestrated by Fatah, which is still reeling from its stunning loss to Hamas in the national elections. Hamas leaders accuse Fatah, which controls many of the unions, of taking advantage of Palestinians' dissatisfaction with Israel and the international community to try to undermine the Hamas government.

Four days of negotiations last week between Fatah and Hamas failed to result in a unity government, and many Fatah followers are now calling on Abbas to invoke his power to establish an emergency government.

``Mahmoud Abbas will continue putting obstacles, and Hamas does not know what to do," said Abdel Sattar Qassem , a professor of political science at An-Najah University in Nablus.

After a reporter was ushered into one of Fatah's main party offices in Nablus by men with pistols in their waistbands, local leaders made their intentions clear.

``The government has two options. Solve the problems or leave," said Yusef Harb , a Fatah spokesman . ``Our main goal is to pressure the government to take responsibility. They have no plan to end the siege."

Hamas leaders have decried the strikes, accusing Fatah of forcing teachers and other civil servants to participate. There have been reports of Fatah gunmen raiding classrooms in Gaza and the West Bank and forcing teachers to go home.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said during the Palestinian Authority's weekly Cabinet meeting in Gaza City that Fatah is trying to undermine the Hamas government.

Not everybody blames the Hamas government for the latest ills.

Abdul Rahman Imran , 48, works for the Nablus Charity Committee, which oversees the disbursement up to $50 a month for 3,000 of the city's neediest families. He said the United States and European countries are most to blame, because they have cut off Hamas' access to funds.

Yet increasingly, it is Hamas that is the target of criticism, a new phenomenon that could lead to violence, some say.

``Palestinian people live on the assistance of the international community," said Jihad Hamad , an analyst at the Independent Center for Strategic Studies and Polls in Ramallah. ``This government was not able to find ways to give the Palestinians employment. They were a huge disappointment to the people."

Globe correspondent Said Ghazali contributed to this report. Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com.