Palestinian peace hopes fade

By Ken Lee Ramallah, West Bank

In the wake of fresh retaliatory attacks and a virtual collapse of the American roadmap for peace, a palpable blanket of pessimism has fallen across the Palestinian territories in recent days.

But many here would say it is the only state of affairs they have ever known.

An ordinary day in Ramallah

"Both sides can just go to hell," said a Palestinian housewife who identified herself only as Sarah, as sound bombs exploded and automatic gunfire crackled from several Israeli armoured jeeps that made a short incursion into the city centre on Wednesday.

Grasping a set of car keys and wearing pyjamas, the 40-year-old Ramallah resident was desperately trying to move her car to safety, since her old four-door Chevrolet was "squished" by an Israeli tank the last time around.

"We don't need anyone, we don't have faith in anybody," she exclaimed.

"The politicians are just all talk, while our children pay the price. My 17-year-old is probably going to come home dead soon if I don't get home right now."

No faith

"There is no hope, only darkness," added Hatten Sawarmi, 35, a computer programmer, who voiced mistrust in the whole Palestinian leadership, from President Yasser Arafat to Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who survived a botched Israeli assassination attempt last week.

"I blame both sides [for our current situation]," Mr Sawarmi said.

Ramallah resident Hatten Sawarmi blames both sides

"If the problem is placed in front of people like [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and Arafat, there can be no solution. This is their war."

Like a majority of Palestinians, Mr Sawarmi had expected little from outgoing Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, and expects even less from his replacement Ahmed Qurei.

In an April poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre, only 30% of Palestinians surveyed believed Abu Mazen could advance the peace process.

Nearly 70% believed his position was an artificial creation by external pressures, or "cooked in America's kitchen" as one Palestinian merchant in Jerusalem put it.

Gloomy prospects

Other Palestinians interviewed throughout the territories agreed that the political situation would get worse before it gets better.

"Our life is just a repetition of death and destruction," said Hassan Hussein, 29, an English teacher in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.

The cycle of violence appears never-ending

"I'm pessimistic not from the current situation but because we've been living under military occupation for so long," he said, adding that three boys at his school, none older than 13, had been killed by Israeli gunfire in the current conflict.

"I know suicide bombings are not the answer, but it is only fair to extract fear from the Israelis, when we are facing fear everyday," Hussein added.

Ibrahim Fattoah, 32, a policeman from Nablus, predicted that Mr Qurei would only last three months before resigning under pressure.

"Israel believes that the first thing a Palestinian prime minister must do is make civil war between us, and there's no-one who would take that dangerous step," he said in reference to Israeli demands to crackdown on Palestinian militant groups.

"The reason why the situation won't change is because Sharon has no political solution," Mr Fattoah added.

"His opinion is that the future Palestinian state is in Jordan."