Between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority: Islamic Movements and Palestinian Development in the Gaza Strip

Abstract

The dangers arising from Islamic fundamentalism in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are obvious: bombings and commitments to continue the armed struggle against Israeli occupation despite the signing of the Oslo agreements. The problem was true before the new Intifada of 2000 and it has heightened impact now. I will not address this except to say that the new conflict, at least in part, comes out of a social services structure that has crumbled over the past decade. The fundamental problem is that during the course of the Peace Process more people have become disenfranchised. This has led to more violence and radicalism, not less. The historic structure of ‘fundamentalist terrorism’2 has led to the idea that Islam and the West are somehow irreconcilably opposed to each other, resulting in what is referred to as the clash of civilizations, which assumes the Middle East and the West are two homogeneous entities lacking permeability, diversity, or nuance. No viewpoint could be more misleading.