NYT Correspondent in Gaza

by Charles Lenchner · 2009-01-23 21:40:00 UTC
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Q. and A. With Taghreed El-Khodary in Gaza, from the NYT blog. She is a Gazan journalist working for the Times. It was informative and refreshing to hear stories about her journalism with more of her personal views than get expressed in news articles. Here's one of the questions:

Q. Ms. El-Khodary, let me first thank you for your in-depth, balanced coverage of what must be a terribly painful event. My question is: What do ordinary Gazans want from their leadership now ? Do they want to continue the fighting, and if so, why? Do ordinary Gazans support Hamas’ decision to fire rockets into Israel ? Is this seen as a defensive action ? — Beth Katz

A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:

From talking to many people, I can say that Palestinians in Gaza are against the continuation of fighting. They are relieved it is over. Hamas has sensed that; therefore, Hamas political leaders have decided to abide by the truce.

From talking to Hamas senior leaders, one can sense their interest in the truce not only because of the public pressure but also because they need to succeed in governance.

Regarding the firing of the rockets, there is split of opinion. Those supporting Hamas view the Qassam rockets as a method to put pressure on Israel to ease their lives. One woman said, ” It’s symbolic. With firing the Qassam rockets, we want the world to notice our issue of occupation,” One Qassam brigade member said, “The goal is to try to create a balance in fear.” On the other hand, there is a stronger voice that is against the rockets. Their logic is: why invite an Israeli retaliation? It will be interesting to see if that voice will become louder in the coming stage. It’s too early to come out with a conclusion regarding Hamas’s popularity. Definitely there are those who are disappointed at Hamas for driving them into this stage, but we can’t ignore those who are blaming Israel.

Charles Lenchner
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