Gaza Play Blames Hamas and Fatah

Not appearing at a college campus near you--but give it time.

Who killed our homeland?
By Lorenzo Cremonesi

"Who killed Watan?" cried the dozens of youngsters on the stage of the Shawah, the largest theater in Gaza, as they pointed accusing fingers at a group of older actors waving the flags of the Palestinian resistance movements: Fatah, Hamas, Iz a-Din al-Qassam, the Al-Quds Brigade and Islamic Jihad. Their flags symbolize many long years of struggles, hopes, distress and blood. But this time there was nothing formal or festive about them; there were no calls against "the Zionist enemy," none of the usual anti-Israel slogans.

The play, "Watan," was written to grasp the bull by the horns and send a new, revolutionary message. "Enough of always blaming the Israelis for our problems. The time has come for a reckoning, and to condemn those among us who are bringing catastrophe down upon our people," says poet-director Saed Swerky, 37, the author of the play that has set shock waves rippling among Gaza's 1.5 million-plus inhabitants.

Watan, which means "homeland" in Arabic, was a 12-year-old boy who was killed during the Fatah-Hamas clashes that engulfed the Gaza Strip during the second week of June. The play premiered on August 13. Thousands of people sat mesmerized for more than two hours, interrupting the play with their applause during the most dramatic scenes from the civil war: prisoners thrown from the roofs of 15-story buildings; people shot in the knees; militants who used to be on the same side exchanging insults. The show ends in uncertainty. The evidence against the armed men is conclusive, but the curtain comes down before the jury has its say.

Of course, the jury is also out on whether this is an isolated incident or the start of a real change in attitude.

Read the whole thing.

Technorati Tag: Gaza and Watan and Saed Swerky.