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Hamas Suspends Rocket Fire at Israel, Shifts to Public Relations

[New York Times] Ethan Bronner - Seven months after Israel's military campaign in Gaza to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through public relations, aiming to build what Hamas leaders call a "culture of resistance." Hamas leader Ayman Taha explained: "The current situation required a stoppage of rockets. After the war, the fighters needed a break and the people needed a break." Increasingly, people are questioning the value of the rockets, not because they hit civilians but because they are seen as relatively ineffective. In June, just two rockets were fired from Gaza, one of the lowest monthly tallies since the firing began in 2002. A play currently seen nightly in Gaza City called "The Women of Gaza and the Patience of Job" includes a satirical scene in which a Hamas fighter describes a fellow fighter who made the Israelis quake in their boots: "He hit Tel Aviv!" From the audience emerges a dismissive laugh, for it knows how meaningless such boasting proved over the years. The show's writer, Said al-Bettar, said he wrote the scene to make the point that "We were the victims of a big lie."
2009-07-24 06:00:00
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