Meet Fatah Central Committee Member and aspiring comedian Abbas Zaki, who delivered one heck of a stand-up routine last week.
“If the [Israelis] want to carry out what they proposed during the elections, then they will have to choose between two options: either they leave by way of the sea, or they wade in a sea of blood.”
All I am seeing is an ocean of empty threats. And projection. The only people leaving by sea are Gazans.
Khaled Shurrab had been waiting more than half his life to get out of Gaza.
A rising number of Gazans, seeking better lives abroad, are drowning at sea. The devastating procession has prompted a rare outpouring of anger against the territory’s militant Hamas rulers, a number of whom are making their own — very different — exodus.
In recent months, high-profile Hamas officials have quietly decamped to upscale hotels in Beirut, Doha and Istanbul, stirring resentment among residents who see them as leading luxurious lives abroad while the economy collapses at home and 2.3 million Gazans remain effectively trapped in the tiny, conflict-scarred territory.
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“I blame the rulers here, the government of Gaza,” said Shurrab’s mother, Um Mohammed, from her home in the southern town of Khan Younis. Her son’s body was never recovered from the Aegean Sea. “They live in luxury while our children eat dirt, migrate and die abroad.”
“Our children perform miracles. We know how old Omar Abu Leila was [when he carried out an attack]. He was 19 years old. [Slain terrorists] Uday Tamimi, Ibrahim Nabulsi, Diaa Hamarsheh, Raad Hazem… So our heroes – by themselves, without even receiving any orders – are making Israel lose sleep.”
Talk about a low bar for miracles. As for losing sleep, we are doing fine, while we seem to be occupying his head 24/7 free of rent.
But like every good standup comedian, Abbas Zaki knows how to finish with a real zinger.
“We will not be afraid of the settlers. They should think about leaving. We gave peace every chance. The time has come to prepare for all the options that are open.”
