Sometimes man-made disasters can be worse than natural calamities. This certainly applies to the Gaza Strip, where humans are responsible for serious humanitarian, economic and psychological calamities.

Last summer, the people of Gaza received a dose of hope when the warring Palestinian factions, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Hamas, appeared to have buried the hatchet and began serious implementation of an already agreed upon reconciliation process.

The reconciliation would have produced relief on two basic fronts; it would have found a solution to the electricity problem, which had been hampered by the lack of funds, and, once fully cemented, the reconciliation would have resulted with the permanent reopening of the Rafah crossing point to Egypt and the world, thus breaking a decade-long unjust siege that the Israelis have imposed ever since Hamas took over power in Gaza.

The expected results never happened as both warring parties have been blaming each other for the failure. Electricity is still being provided for a few hours a day, record setting unemployment continues as the Israeli-imposed siege is not being relaxed and the anticipated opening of the Rafah crossing point has never materialised.

Hamas’  agreement, some say capitulation, in September last year on the three conditions which President Mahmoud Abbas and the Ramallah-based government set included dissolving the Hamas-run administrative government, empowerment of the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s government and agreement to hold parliamentary and presidential elections.

read more HERE:   http://jordantimes.com/opinion/daoud-kuttab/do-not-forget-gaza