Of late, the Palestinians in Gaza are beginning to resemble nothing less than an insane asylum with full access to the drug cabinet. Instead of making serious efforts (under incredibly difficult circumstances) to demonstrate that they can make a dignified attempt at self-governance in the strip and put more moral pressure on the Israelis to lift the rest of the occupation, they let the loonies run riot.

The now long running kidnap of Alan Johnston (the BBC reporter and practically the only westerner who was reporting their plight actually in Gaza rather than watching Arab news in a warm hotel in Tel Aviv) was one such idiocy.

This latest is another, where female TV presenters have been threatened with beheading for shamelessly exposing their faces.

This is a classic quote that illustrates the mind-boggling disconnect in rational thought:

Quote Originally Posted by Ahmed Q Nut-Job
If necessary, we will behead and slaughter to preserve the spirit and morals of our people.


I know this is a fringe group, but there's an awful lot of these nutters cropping up. Gaza has been set up to fail, and its people are suffering from that set-up, but surely they can see that to root out the demagogues and crazies is their only way out of such desperation?

I have long since supported a Palestinian state, and deplored the occupation, but I despair at the thought of their nationhood these days. The people must rise and rid themselves of the madmen that entrap them into suffering, surely? There are clearly brave people there - witness the TV presenters - but why are they docile in the face of extremism?


Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
'Wear a veil or we will behead you,' radicals tell TV women

By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 04 June 2007


All 15 women presenters reported for work at the official Palestine Television station in Gaza yesterday, in defiance of death threats by a radical Islamic group that is believed to have links with al-Qa'ida. The Righteous Swords of Islam warned that it would strike the women with "an iron fist and swords" for refusing to wear a veil on camera.

"It is disgraceful that the women working for the official Palestinian media are competing with each other to display their charms," it said in a leaflet distributed in Gaza at the weekend. "We will destroy their homes. We will blow up their work places. We have a lot of information about their addresses and we are following their movements."

The fringe group threatened to "slaughter" the women for corrupting Palestinian morals. "The management and workers at Palestine TV should know," it warned, "that we are much closer to them than they think. If necessary, we will behead and slaughter to preserve the spirit and morals of our people."

About half the women TV journalists wear the traditional hijab head covering, but all show their faces and wear makeup. They mounted a vigil yesterday outside the Gaza City office of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, demanding protection and respect.

Lana Shaheen, who heads the station's English-language programmes, told The Independent: "Of course we are afraid. Previously this group threatened Internet cafes and video shops, then burned them. We will protect ourselves."

She insisted the women would continue working. "We will not change... our lives. We've worked through Israeli bombardments and attacks, just like the men. It's a national obligation."

Mohammed al-Dahoudi, the director-general of Palestine TV, said they were taking the threats seriously. "In the current security chaos, everything can happen in Gaza. There is incitement from some groups against television. We will continue to work as usual, but we will take precautions. We have to be careful."

He recalled previous attacks by Muslim radicals on local offices of the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV; another station, Voice of the Workers; and Palestine TV's own branch in Khan Yunis. In recent weeks, militants campaigning against Western influence have also vandalised an American school and a Christian bookshop. Bassam Eid, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, accused the radicals of behaving like the Taliban in Afghanistan. "Gaza has become Hamasistan. They are trying to drag Palestinian society back to the dark ages."

As the prospect of peace recedes and poverty spreads, Palestinians have become more traditional. Bars and cinemas have closed. Many educated, middle-class women now cover their heads, but hardly anyone, even in the villages, wears the niqab veil.

* Despite a sharp decline in the number of rocket attacks from Gaza, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, vowed yesterday to continue military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Four Israeli soldiers were wounded yesterday when Palestinian fighters fired mortars at the Erez passenger crossing between Gaza and Israel. Earlier, troops shot dead a Fatah gunman in the West bank town of Jenin.