An Arab Journalist who is a resident of Gaza openly criticizes the Palestinian leadership’s corrupt behavior and wishes for Israeli rule.
It seems that even during this tense times, when the riots at the fence are red-hot, there are those in the Gaza Strip who are willing to admit openly, using their full names, that the Palestinians prefer Israeli rule compared to the current leadership.
In an interview for Mendy Rizel’s radio program, This Morning, on Radio South 101.5 (Wednesday, May 16th), journalist Sami Obeid, a resident of Gaza, stated that Israel is merciful and that if the riots at the fence had been against Asad’s army, he “would have killed the entire city”, in his words.
Obeid criticized the conduct of the Palestinian leadership in Hamas and in the PA as corrupt and said that it only cares about itself, not the residents: “Our problem is that all of our leaders are thieves and we residents are suffering. Hamas steals, Abbas steals and we are between their hammer and anvil. We are powerless against them. They are in power and they have everything and we residents are miserable, embittered, hungry”.
About Israel and Israeli leadership, he said: “We think that you are merciful; take pity on us, help us and that’s it. If it was Bashar Asad, he would have killed the entire city and the story would be over. We want to live with the Jews”.
To the interviewer’s question if he means that the Palestinians would want to live under Israeli rule, “should we rule again in Gaza?” Obeid answered: “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All the residents say this”.
It seems that even if this journalist’s position does not represent the entire population of the Gaza Strip, the very willingness to express it so openly is an indication of the general mood on the Palestinian street. Even there, it turns out, the understanding is dawning – Israeli sovereignty will be good for them too.