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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Anxious-in-Gaza-469518
In Gaza, Support for Hamas Is Waning
(Jerusalem Report) Graham Jamison - Visiting Gaza in early September, one sees and hears the sounds of construction everywhere. In the area that was once the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Katif are a dozen brand-new residential towers built with Qatari funding. I had the impression, mostly from the media, that Gaza was more or less destroyed and was surprised at how difficult it was to see evidence of the 2014 war. As I entered the outskirts of Gaza City, I wondered where are all the destroyed buildings? On my first two days in Gaza, I didn't see a single one. Longing to dismantle the Jewish state is baked into seemingly every aspect of Gazan life. Massive rockets are on display at traffic circles. In barber shops, restaurants and residents' living rooms, Hamas TV runs endless loops of Israeli crimes against Palestinians; in the corner of the screen is an animated graphic that flashes thousands of portraits of Palestinian "martyrs." A Palestinian woman who works for UNRWA corrected me when I referred to Israel as "Israel." "It's Palestine," she said. Hamas once enjoyed broad popular support in Gaza, but these days support is waning. In formal interviews and casual conversations with dozens of Palestinians over the course of seven days, I rarely heard someone say they supported Hamas. One gripe is the recent wars with Israel. "The wars created big problems here, and that's Hamas' fault," said Leila, 23, a university student. "I want to send a message to Hamas: You need to be quiet and stop shooting rockets." "Fatah was corrupt, but at least we had jobs, at least we had electricity," she added. Many Gazans spoke about the Islamist party's inability to fix the economy. Eissa, 56, from Gaza City, told me he had six sons with university degrees, but not one had a job. He spoke longingly of the days when he could earn relatively high wages working construction jobs in Israel. There's also a perception that Hamas has become more corrupt in recent years. Just outside the al-Shati refugee camp stand the giant, garish seaside villas of top Hamas officials.