Gaza wants life

This is what one academic said, expressing the situation of Gaza City following the political division that has continued for more than four years between the West Bank and the Strip. This came at a meeting that brought together various groups of journalists, academics, mukhtars and youth groups in the hall of the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution on Monday 4/4/2011. Those present confirmed that the situation in Gaza has become suffocating and that the problem lies in the parties' struggle over representing the people, until the cause was lost and the disagreement between the two sides deepened. The discussion also covered whether elections could succeed in both the West Bank and the Strip without resolving the thorny issues between the two sides, such as the security file, the reform of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, media incitement and political detention. Those present stressed the need to hold elections as a way out of the current crisis, together with seeking the enactment of a new electoral law based on full proportional representation. For their part, the popular movement expressed their will to continue peaceful sit-ins until the division is ended. It is noted that this meeting is the first within the project "Together for national reconciliation", which aims through it at producing a paper on the practical and sequenced ways to end the division and achieve national reconciliation.