Disillusion sets in amid poverty and factional conflict

The invitations described it as an opportunity for the "notable people" of Gaza to meet their prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was elected as Palestinian prime minister a year ago today.

Dressed in a suit and tie and with a red and white keffiyeh draped over his head and shoulders, Mr Haniyeh spoke for an hour to an audience of Palestinian newspaper editors and local figures in Gaza City this week. He condemned Israel and the west for failing to give his government a chance, but said he would not stand in the way of peace negotiations.

Then he sat back to listen to his audience. A year ago today large numbers of Palestinians turned out at the polls to bring Hamas into government for the first time. The change marked a breakthrough for political Islam in the Arab world.

One year on, hopes for a significant change in their fortunes have for many Palestinians turned into disillusionment. Most questions at the meeting highlighted the deep and widespread anxiety that society was sliding into factional conflict.

More than 60 Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks in fighting between Hamas and its political rival, Fatah. Another three were injured yesterday in a gunfight in Beit Hanoun.

At the meeting, the first man to the microphone shouted: "If this civil war carries on it will destroy everything. Why don't we use the courts instead of killing people involved in killing?" The crowd applauded. A second man said: "Please step away from the problems between you and look to the Palestinians who are suffering now. It is causing chaos and insecurity."

Another said that Mr Haniyeh should put more effort into the struggling negotiations between Hamas and Fatah, to form a coalition with a political programme that might lift the economic boycott which Israel and the west had imposed after the formation of the Hamas government.

Guardian