‘Twas the night before Eid…in Gaza
Eid in Gaza is a very strange thing. Then again, what is not strange here except strangeness itself?
On one hand, the streets become one large shopping district, 
as sidewalks become an extension of the shops that overlook them, with street sellers popping up overnight and displaying their fare on outdoor racks and kiosks…offering everything from cheap tunnel goods, toys, handbags, knockoff perfumes and knockoff clothes, beads and bracelets and nick knacks, all for “super-low Eid prices!”, as the man in the freaky bear costume kept reminding us. 
You can barely navigate through the crowds, and so many opt to stay indoors: “its a jungle out there-stay away!!”.
But this is Gaza, and people seldom get a chance to take a “breather”. Its been a long, brutally hot Ramadan. So they say they don’t dare step out, but they do anyway. Its exciting, to hell with the crowds!
After a long day spent in Beit Lahiya, and later, editing, I decided to take the kids to the Shalehat beach resort (sounds much fancier than it is…but one of the only open grassy areas they can run around in). In the last minute, we changed our plans and decide to go get some ice cream at “Mr. Kathem’s” instead (Gaza’s oldest ice cream parlor). 
One street stall catches my attention-a man selling hand-woven rugs, a very old and dying artisan tradition in Gaza so I stop and peruse the selection.
Then-BOOM, the earth shakes, people begin screaming. There is chaos, for a moment, on top of the chaos already present from Eid eve, which is itself another layer of chaos to the already chaotic and indiscernible situation that is Gaza.
One person asks another asks another and we realize Israel has bombed 4 locations in Gaza, one of them being a complex next to the Shalehat resort we were supposed to be in minutes earlier. Injuries? Dead? “None…no wait 2, no 4…serious.”
“This is Israel’s way of saying “Happy Eid Gaza!”" remarked one man casually, as he licked an ice cream cone he just bought from Kathem’s and took in the holiday scenes.
The police are on alert, there are ambulances streaming by. Tension ebbs and flows.
Then, its “as you were”. People continue shopping. It is Eid, after all. And this is Gaza.
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09/09/2010 at 8:09 pm
that makes me so angry ;/
I am outraged that this is happening. I am sorry; I wish I could do anything to help.
Eid Mubarak!
09/09/2010 at 9:54 pm
..that was retaliation for the rockets shot over at israel…..you are lucky that you are fooling with israel…and not egypt or jordan….meanwhile happy end of holiday..and those kids , they are really cute
09/10/2010 at 12:11 am
Thank you so much for the post! I was born and raised in the USA, but every time I go to Gaza, I feel as if that’s where I belong. Habibti ya Gaza ma a7laki. Post more pictures of Kazem’s barrad. It is my obsession, and I WILL find out that secret recipe one day haha. Oh and Dukant Abu Kazz in Remal.
<3
Bint Gaza
09/10/2010 at 5:23 am
May Eid’s blessings be upon you.My thoughts and prayers are with you ALL!
09/11/2010 at 5:18 am
Salam Laila.. Eid mubarak to you and your family
Allah y2aweekon w ysaberkon
09/12/2010 at 1:52 am
You just so briefly forgot the rocket fire from Gaza on Israel that caused the retaliation. The Gazans attacked a kindergarten. Israel attacked Hamas positions.
There is such a simple solution to this problem. Lay down your weapons, recognize the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, negotiate borders in good faith, and declare an end to the conflict. It will all be over in a very short time, everyone can go on living and there will be no more victims on either side.
09/12/2010 at 6:17 am
Alternatively, Larry, you can lay down your weapons, recognize the existence of Palestine (something with the Likud’s charter explicitly rejects), negotiate borders in good faith-not unilateral disengagements and annexation barriers, and declare an end to the occupation. It will all be over in a very short time and there will be peace and justice for all.
09/12/2010 at 1:46 pm
Laila,
Thank you for your response. It appears that Israel did just that when she evacuated Gaza. The response was an immediate escalation of rocketfire into Israel. Be that as it may, it is in the past, and we need to deal with the present and future. There is only one way to achieve peace and that is mutual acceptance and negotiation. Whether arms are lain down prior to a negotiated peace or not, in the end, there must be a cease fire and cessation of hostilities for the peace to be effective.
While I am by no means a supporter of Likud, I would like to present to all your readers the Likud platform (not charter) on peace. It is available for all to read at
http://www.knesset.gov.il/elections/knesset15/elikud_m.htm
I think you are correct in your claim that the Likud clearly rejects the founding of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river, but I would go as far as saying that any peace proposal would come under a national referendum and not just the desires of the existing coalition in Israel. I think Israel in general has favored a true peace with a Palestinian state by close to a 70% majority.
09/12/2010 at 5:10 pm
@Larry: your ‘Jewish state of Israel’ and ‘good faith’ when used as a phrase will form a very ridiculous oxymoron … you show up from another corner of the world and claim that the lands which these Palestinians had to themselves for generation actually belong to you, as God dictated so … But I doubt that God is such a lousy estate allocator and to our relief He ain’t … If you will remember what is written down on your Torah for that matter, which says that the Jewish people won’t be able to return to The Promised Land until they are taken there by the Messiah, who was Isa Ibn’ Mariam AKA Jesus, who came and gone without your lousy lot actually recognizing him as ‘The Messiah’ in their proud and oblivious arrogance of being in the illusion of being ‘The Chosen People … Now in the same manner as your predecessors thousands of years ago the IDF shoots 12.5mm Anti-Material Incendiary bullets into kids who are less than a year old cause the kids are of Muslims and they ain’t the Chosen Lot, right? The height of the arrogance of the Israeli people were shown some days ago by your former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who said that all Palestinians deserves to die and the mighty state of Israel should strike them down with plague … And you actually mean to say that these people are terrorists and they don’t have the right to defend themselves, their families and their homes? Well then I should suggest you to check up the history of the de facto state of Israel … And how it came into ‘being’ …
@Laila El-Haddad: Late Eid Mubarak to you and your family … I’m sorry for my incompetence as I’m unable to help you people in any manner except to pray to Allah that someday all of you people may live free once again … I hope,pray, wish and want that it is soon and sooner.
09/12/2010 at 5:28 pm
i love it
i love u gaza
09/12/2010 at 7:08 pm
I just found your blog and look forward to reading more. I will definitely check out your book Eid mubarak!
09/13/2010 at 2:58 pm
lalia..if i may interject a word here…by your responce to larrys post tht makes real sense…you do not see the facts as they are….the arabs have been the aggesors all along…from the 1920s…..israel is faced with a hostile world….you guys have to make the first concilitory moves…period…there is no way in the world ,israel can trust the palestinians right now…you have to earn trust..i know what the comebacks will say….and even if you are right..it doesnt matter….israel will not commit suicide
09/18/2010 at 10:02 pm
Samedi,
Thank you for your comments. You raise some very interesting points. Unfortunately not a single one of them is based on fact, but appear to all be based on your virulent anti semitism, which I base on your comment referring to Jews as your lousy lot.
Lets get some facts straight.
1. I am Israeli. My comments do not come from halfway around the world, but up close and personal.
2. Nowhere in the torah is the concept of Messiah mentioned.
3. Nowhere in Judaism is there a concept of god the real estate agent. In comparison, in Islamic tradition there is land described as waqf which is land dedicated to allah.
4. Not a single Arab has ever been killed by the IDF for not being one of the chosen people. Many have been killed as a result of their aggression against innocent Israelis. Most recently, for example the brutal murder of a pregnant Israeli woman.
5. Ovadia Yosef has the freedom of speech as does every other Israeli. His words carry no official function other than to point out his incompetence and bigotry.
6. The state of Israel came into being by slowly purchasing and reclaiming land in a wasteland. A viable community was grown, and, after the Jews won the sympathy of the rest of the world as a result of the slaughter of the Holocaust, the promise originally made by England and the league of nations to form a Jewish nation in the middle east was fulfilled. Israel declared her independence, much of the world recognized her existence, and the Arab world attacked with the goal of slaughtering the Jews.
7. The goal of slaughtering the Jews remains the prime initiative of the Hamas and PLO charters.
Now, I would be very happy to continue the discussion with you, but I would request that the discussion be based on facts.
09/19/2010 at 4:54 pm
What is your opinion on setting the water park on fire? Was it the right thing to do, or do you think Israel is responsible?
09/21/2010 at 9:01 pm
Rockets? For one, think about 500.000 illegal people in West Bank and still growing. Blaming solely on rockets is just lame as hell.
And it’s way to sickening to make crappy rockets as an excuse for EVERYTHING; murdering thousand Gazans within two weeks, impoverishing 1.5 million people, building illegal settlement in west bank, and the 60 years of occupation.
Seriously, how come Israel expects the Gazans and the Palestinians to sit nicely while constantly being oppressed, expelled, humiliated, and in many cases, murdered?? That’s just too retarded.
10/11/2010 at 2:50 pm
justine…your right..one can not expect the palestinians to stit idly by…..so thats the point…tit for tat..tit for tat…until when?….you have to make the israelis feel safe..in order for there to be progress to peace….why? us you say…because the israelis have the military power,thats why…and if it was the other way…you know as well as i….no more israel
12/05/2010 at 8:47 pm
Hi Laila, amazing blog though i just zoomed through this fast I would just like to make it clear that the truth always prevails and plz continue writing these inspiring and joyful stories Laila! Can’t wait to see ur up coming facts!