Inside Gaza: 'U.S.- backed Fatah leaders lived in villas; Hamas ministers choose to live in the dwellings of the poor'

The Huffington Post- "Could you comment on the mood in Gaza since the events on the Turkish Flotilla?", I was asked this question in the aftermath of the botched Israeli raid on the Turkish Flotilla that killed eight Turkish participants and one Turkish-American. I sensed the Canadian interviewer was looking for a comment that would fit the narrative that depicted Gazans cheering and hugging each other in cafes. I politely informed the interviewer that I could not speak on behalf of more than 1.5 million people; but remarked that there was far more excitement on the streets after Real Madrid vs. Barcelona.

Gazans are no fools. They listened to President Obama's honeyed words in Cairo in 2009, they recall Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's explicit and ill-fated demands to end all settlement activity, and they watch on television as international newscasters report selectively on Gaza's plight from Washington -- or at best from the comfort of the other side of the barriers that enclose the coastal strip. The overwhelming message they conclude from these dispatches is that the people of Gaza are allowed little say in the coverage of Gaza, let alone in articulating their hopes for the future.

After so many years of indignity, broken promises, and perverse neglect, not to mention heavy bombardment, Gazans would be foolish to look to the ajnebees (foreigners) for answers or for hope. But such is the paradox of donor aid, US power in the region, and EU ambiguity, that one dares not bite the hand that could and does sustain so many.

Thoughtful analysts recently concluded that Obama differed from his predecessor, and that the EU was on the verge of taking a lead role in the push for peace. Yet after two dismal years, Brand Obama has so far proven to be a figment of our wildest and most optimistic projections despite his obvious charm, intelligence, and the key fact that he was not George W. Bush. The continued siege on Gaza under his watch has revealed in full High Def that Obama is at a loss on Gaza and that the EU slavishly follows the U.S. There is a policy vacuum on Gaza that has become the only policy in town -- namely do nothing that might help. The continued presence of the literal and figurative ruins of Israel's brutal military onslaught on Gaza exactly two years ago this past Dec. 27 is the most disheartening and undeniable reminder of this fact. Read more