Gaza: 'day of rage' in former holiday haven?
Updated on 31 May 2010
Channel 4 News senior correspondent Kylie Morris, who used to live in Gaza, says instead of twinkling seas and holiday beaches, a "day of rage" could be on the way.
The Gaza coastline is, in fact, beautiful. It is, after all, on the Mediterranean. There are high rise hotels - but maybe just five in all. They reflect a time when Gaza was the kind of place you might be able to go for a holiday.
One of the outcomes of the political stasis of the strip, is that not much has been allowed to develop. Various leaderships - from Arafat to Hamas - have spent richly on the manifold security forces that swagger around government buildings, but the wider economy has never enjoyed the same levels of investment.
The conflict is what costs the territory most. During the second intifadah, it was the fishermen who bore the brunt of the Israeli naval blockade. Fears that they might pull in more than Sultan Ibrahim (red mullet), meant the Israeli navy kept the fishing boats on a short line. Bobbing within a mile of the shore, and that's when the situation was good.
(Gaza crisis: protesters campaign against Israeli's aid blockade - Getty)
Often, they weren't allowed out to fish at all. Instead of their sharp lights rocking on the horizon, Israeli warships zipped the coast closed. When hostilities were in full flow, the gunships would fire their missiles onto targets in Gaza City, or Gush Khatif, or Rafah.
Ironically, the port itself, in the curve of the coast, where Gaza City meets the sea, is the infrastructure project which the EU chose to channel a great deal of finance toward. But today, like that other territory transport hub, the Gaza international airport, the comings and goings are non-existent.
The blockade remains in place. Foods, medical supplies, educational equipment, building materials all officially restricted by Israel - they have been since 2007. What the UN doesn't provide, is smuggled through tunnels from Egypt and costs Palestinians dearly.
'Regret' from Israeli PM after aid ship raids
Today the port remains expectant and empty, ready for a Gaza that has never emerged.
Any ships that might have docked there are now impounded along with the hundreds of activists who seemed so determined to deliver their cargo. Instead of celebrating, Palestinians are being urged by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya to stage a "day of rage".
