So far, scores of families, encouraged by opposition elements, have
challenged Hamas in their drive to regain permanent housing, Middle East Newsline reported. In August 2010,
44 families left their tents and raided an unfinished building in the
northern village of Jabalya that belongs to the Hamas Housing Ministry.
So far, the Jabalya squatters have resisted efforts by the
Islamic regime to evict them. At one point, women and children blocked the way of a Hamas
police force that sought to storm the building, which contains 44 units.
"The heat and cold hurt our children. Where are you?" a banner hung by
the squatters on the building read.
In mid-2010, Hamas police blocked Gaza's homeless from acquiring land in
the
south for resettlement. At the time, the Housing Ministry said the land was
government-owned and illegally sold by speculators.
"We have lost faith that anyone will rebuild our homes," Bassam Jamil,
one of the squatters, said.
Hamas has pledged to help rebuild the thousands of homes destroyed in
the 23-day war with Israel in December 2008 and January 2009. But the regime
said such an effort depends on international donors and Israel's lifting
of its siege of the Gaza Strip.
The international community has pledged nearly $10 billion for Gaza
reconstruction, but Hamas said none of the money has arrived. The United
Nations has reported that about 12,000 Palestinian refugees remained
homeless.
"They are meanwhile living in miserable, cramped and often expensive
conditions in rented houses or with relatives or camping in the open," UN
representative Peter Ford said.
At the same time, Hamas has been preparing for rising unrest over the
next few months. On Aug. 21, the Islamist government said it would crack
down on unlicensed firearms amid clashes between rival Palestinian clans as
well as militias.
"All illegal weapons or those used illegally will be taken without being
returned to owners," Gaza police spokesman Maj. Ayman Al Batniji said.
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