JumpStart International

Like the majority of the 1.4 million Palestinians struggling to survive in the Gaza Strip, JumpStart workers have been deeply affected by the recent internal conflicts resulting from increased political disagreements within the Palestinian government. Work was suspended briefly at the end of January when people were forced to remain inside their homes due to armed street clashes.  

Women's Unity Rally in Gaza City

In an effort to put an end to the infighting, Palestinian leaders signed an agreement on February 8^th 2007 to form a new National Unity Government. Ecstatic Palestinians poured onto the streets of Gaza to celebrate after the agreement was signed. Streets were bursting with jubilant supporters cheering, waving flags and carrying banners, lighting fireworks and chanting songs of unity and peace. “We are so fortunate that the agreement has been signed, and we have peace on the streets now, ilhumdallah (‘thank God’) it is safe to travel to and from work so I can earn money to support myself and my family” says JumpStart employee Imad Faris who lives in Khan Younis refugee camp.  

Markets reopen after Unity Agreement Signed

Although the formation of the National Unity Government has brought relative calm and stability to streets of Gaza, Palestinian’s here realize that without recognition by the international community, particularly the United States, their new government will not have a chance to succeed. “The support of the United States and the European Union is like the oxygen that will allow the government to live, it needs this oxygen to survive and without it, our Unity Government will not have the power to succeed,” says JumpStart site supervisor Mr. Al-Nakhale. 

The Palestinian people have paid a brutally high price and have made enormous sacrifices over the past year in order for this government to be established. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the infighting over the past year. “The Palestinian people and the political leaders have worked very hard to create this Unity Government and it has not been an easy road” says Al-Nakhale. “We are living in a kind of blackness here, the Unity Government is our hope of light, but it is only through the recognition from the West that this light will be illuminated”.