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"Many in the United States and Israel believe that Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization, and that its social sector serves merely to recruit new supporters for its violent agenda. Based on Sara Roy's extensive fieldwork in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the critical period of the Oslo peace process, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza shows how the social service activities sponsored by the Islamist group emphasized not political violence but rather community development and civic restoration. Roy demonstrates how Islamic social institutions in Gaza and the West Bank advocated a moderate approach to change that valued order and stability, not disorder and instability; were less dogmatically Islamic than is often assumed; and served people who had a range of political outlooks and no history of acting collectively in support of radical Islam. These institutions attempted to create civic communities, not religious congregations. They reflected a deep commitment to stimulate a social, cultural, and moral renewal of the Muslim community, one couched not only--or even primarily--in religious terms. Vividly illustrating Hamas's unrecognized potential for moderation, accommodation, and change, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza also traces critical developments in Hamas's social and political sectors through the Second Intifada to today, and offers an assessment of the current, more adverse situation in the occupied territories. The Oslo period held great promise that has since been squandered. This book argues for more enlightened policies by the United States and Israel, ones that reflect Hamas's proven record of nonviolent community building"--

"Many in the United States and Israel believe that Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization, and that its social sector serves merely to recruit new supporters for its violent agenda. Based on Sara Roy's extensive fieldwork in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the critical period of the Oslo peace process, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza shows how the social service activities sponsored by the Islamist group emphasized not political violence but rather community development and civic restoration. Roy demonstrates how Islamic social institutions in Gaza and the West Bank advocated a moderate approach to change that valued order and stability, not disorder and instability; were less dogmatically Islamic than is often assumed; and served people who had a range of political outlooks and no history of acting collectively in support of radical Islam. These institutions attempted to create civic communities, not religious congregations. They reflected a deep commitment to stimulate a social, cultural, and moral renewal of the Muslim community, one couched not only--or even primarily--in religious terms. Vividly illustrating Hamas's unrecognized potential for moderation, accommodation, and change, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza also traces critical developments in Hamas's social and political sectors through the Second Intifada to today, and offers an assessment of the current, more adverse situation in the occupied territories. The Oslo period held great promise that has since been squandered. This book argues for more enlightened policies by the United States and Israel, ones that reflect Hamas's proven record of nonviolent community building"--

Die Autorin, die sich laut Herausgeber durch ihr Buch "The Gaza Strip: The Political Economy of De-development" (1995) als führende nichtpalästinensische Expertin für die wirtschaftliche, politische und soziale Entwicklung Gazas ausgewiesen hat, stellt fest, dass der 1993 durch die Verhandlungen in Oslo eingeleitete Friedensprozess die Gesellschaft Palästinas in zweifacher Weise dramatisch geschwächt habe: als politische Akteure und als soziale Akteure, die imstande sind, ihre Familien zu ernähren. Dieser "Verrat" sei begründet in der anhaltenden bzw. verstärkten Hegemonie Israels, der Zerstückelung der palästinensischen Gebiete in eine Vielzahl überwiegend winziger Enklaven und einer Palästinensischen Behörde, die sich als repressiv und korrupt entpuppe. Eine letzte Hoffnung seien jene Kräfte in der palästinensischen Gesellschaft, die sich der ihr aufgezwungenen "Unordnung" zu widersetzen versuchten. (DÜI-Cls)

The heightened closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, imposed by Israel on February 25, 1996, has serverely damaged the already precarious economy of the Gaza Strip: dramatic rise in unemployment levels, reemergence of child labor, paralysis of commercial activity, destructive impact on local agriculture, shortage in Gaza's basic food supply. Another contributing factor to the deteriorating economic situation is the emergence and institutionalization of monopolies controlled by members of the Palestinian Authority. Among the local population the PA is increasingly seen as corrupt, dysfunctional and lacking credibility, but the population is too debilitated to challenge this regime. (DÜI-Hns)