(New York Times) Thomas L. Friedman - The Palestine Securities Exchange, located in the West Bank town of Nablus, has skyrocketed since the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire went into effect in February. And check out Paltel, the Palestinian phone company. It's almost as hot as Google. Palestinian restaurants in Ramallah are full again. Israel is again awash in tourists. Even Hamas cannot ignore how much people want this calm to hold. Ghazi Hamad, editor of the Hamas newspaper Al Risalat, said to me, "One reason Hamas agreed to the cease-fire was to give people a chance to breathe and rest." Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, has not put his security forces in order. I spent a day in Gaza and did not see one Palestinian policeman, but I saw green Hamas flags everywhere.
2005-07-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive