Under lockdown, Palestinians in Gaza fear the worst
It has been widely reported that the Palestinian Authority (PA), bereft of a mandate in the West Bank, has succumbed to the pressure from the US administration insisting it return to negotiations. However, little has been said of the PA's counterpart in Gaza. Also lacking a mandate, Hamas has felt the pressure of the Egyptian political turmoil that stripped it of what some had viewed as an ally in the Muslim Brotherhood-led government.
But even less has been said of the ordinary Palestinian women, men and children trapped in Gaza with all links to the outside world effectively sealed. Worse, Gazans have become the target of a campaign of demonisation at a level unseen in Egypt's contemporary past, culminating in the widespread "accusation" [Ar.] that former President Mohamed Morsi is a Palestinian. But how did this come about?