Voices: Palestinian factions - Tom

Tom is Belgian who has been working for a Belgian NGO in Ramallah for nearly two years.

Q: How has the Fatah-Hamas rivalry affected your everyday life?

A: It hasn't really. Whenever gunshots are heard you take care not to venture too close, although sometimes it's hard to ascertain where exactly they're coming from.

MEET THE PANEL Name: Tom Kenis Age: 29 Lives: Ramallah Works: Belgian NGO

I wouldn't, for instance, not go out on account of some sporadic firing heard an hour ago. One gets used to things, and that's not about being tough or anything. All of my friends, foreigners and Palestinians have this attitude. The sound has become almost as normal as honking cars.

The tension however can be felt and you hear people talking about it on the streets.

Even if a general strike is announced, one can always find this or that shop that's still open.

People still go out for beers on Thursdays or Saturdays. Life goes on.

Q: Who is in control of the streets?

A: Of course I can only speak of Ramallah. Here, the Palestinian security forces, Fatah, are firmly in control. I think it's the same in most of the West Bank. Gaza is a different matter; there's more of a precarious balance of power.

Q: How do people feel about the latest casualties being caused by Palestinian factional violence?

A: People are generally deeply saddened. But the key word here should probably be disillusionment. Regular people have no purchase on these events. They cannot understand how it's possible that Palestinians shoot Palestinians. No-one's optimistic.

Q: What do you think of the call for early elections by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas?

A: I personally think it's not a great idea. The smart thing to do would be for Fatah and Hamas to set aside their differences and form a unity government at least halfway palatable by the international community.

People are disillusioned by Hamas but even those that didn't vote for them feel they haven't been given a fair shot.

The problem is that there's no clear-cut alternative to Fatah or Hamas. Of course there's the ubiquitous Mustafa Barghouti but he doesn't garner any real popular support. A Palestinian friend of mine calls him "a showman".

In this sense elections will only exacerbate the stalemate. If Fatah does not accept the outcome of last year's elections and calls new ones, why should those that lose the next abide by the results?

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