More than 100 unemployed university graduates stormed a Palestinian Authority building in a Gaza Strip refugee camp Saturday, calling on the Palestinian leadership to provide them with jobs.
| "We want our share of the boodle!" |
The incident, which ended amazingly enough peacefully after about two hours, was the latest sign of discontent with the beleaguered Palestinian Authority. The graduates - all of them unarmed - said the authority had promised them employment and failed to live up to its obligation.
| You expect Yasser to listen to you when you're unarmed? |
"We have asked all those in charge and all the members of the Palestinian Legislative Council to find a solution for our situation by finding us jobs, but no one is listening to us," said Shadi Shaath, a leader of the protesters. He said the protesters left the building because they weren't prepared for a lengthy standoff, but he promised further action in the coming days if Palestinian officials don't respond. Last Thursday, dozens of homeless Palestinians, led by gunmen, stormed the governor's office in Gaza's battered Rafah refugee camp, evicting officials and charging that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is not helping them. The standoff ended four hours later after officials pledged to spread some dough around help the people find housing. In the past few weeks, the turmoil has trickled from Gaza to the West Bank, where a growing number of Palestinians have begun to voice criticism of Arafat's corruption-plagued regime and demand reforms.
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