A classic magazine, not news, story, focusing a bit too much on personalities and passions but on the whole a good exposition. However, it took far too long to get to Mahmoud Dahlan, who is the villain in the piece. The story makes no real effort to explain how this situation was incubated by the killing sanctions imposed on the world's most populous spot—except to say "abetted by Israel and the United States," but it is a good snapshot of a dire situation. Of course the story could be told differently from the other side of the Arab/West divide...But what does it mean to call Gaza "ravenous"? And the comparison to Somalia is merely tendentious. Somalia was a country, Gaza is closer to a giant concentration camp.

This is a beautifully written account of two men who grew up a few yards from each other in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza strip. It explores the historical roots of the split between Fatah and Hamas. Khaled Abu Hilal is a Hamas leader and Muhammed Dahlan came to be the Fatah security chief in Gaza before the recent civil war. The article contains some on-site reporting by El-Khodary from Gaza, difficult and dangeroous to obtain.

Excellent piece explaing the conflicts and contradictions of life in Gaza, particularly as experienced by militants in Hamas and Fatah. Particularly striking was the observation about the combination of an extremely young population, 70% under age 30 and nothing to do. High unemployment, strong sexual segregation, packed living space, and a nation-building project that appears to be failing will make for a combustible scene.

While it makes a good read, this story is lacking an in-depth discussion of the continuing problems with Israel taking the lions share of water resources, destroying homes, olive trees, etc., and refusing to give the Palestinian authorities the taxes taken from Palestinians. The origin of the crowded refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon are mentioned only in a sentence in paragraph 11. Where is the connection with the formation of the State of Israel and the continuing incursion on Palestinian lands?