Amira Hass inside Palestine

PA security forces break up demonstration

According to Palestinian sources, Hamas activists demonstrated in areas under Israel's security control because they were barred from holding the protest in areas under the control of the PA. Some 20 participants in the protest were hurt in clashes with Israeli troops. Last week an initiative to hold a joint protest by Hamas and Fatah against Israel was abandoned after the IDF arrested a senior Hamas member involved in its organization.

Real people's terror

My parents despised all their everyday activities - stirring sugar into coffee, washing the dishes, standing at a crosswalk - when in their mind's eye they saw, based on their personal experience, the terror in the eyes of children, the desperation of mothers who could not protect their young ones, the moment when a huge explosion dropped a house on top of its inhabitants and a smart bomb struck down entire families. Salmeh's mother says: "When I wake up [from a restless sleep] I am surprised. I know it's only by chance that I am alive."

They decide when History begins

The siege of Gaza did not begin when Hamas seized control of the Strip's security organs, or when Gilad Shalit was taken captive, or when Hamas was elected in democratic elections. The siege began in 1991 - before the suicide bombings. And since then, it has only become more sophisticated, reaching its peak in 2005.