Reports from those who have recently fled the Gaza Strip indicate that the situation there is growing increasingly dire—the fruit of nearly a decade of Hamas rule. Now, writes Alex Fishman, there is reason to fear not only another war with Israel, but complete social and political collapse:
In Israel, we often see the infrastructure crisis in Gaza—electricity and water shortages and broken sewage systems. But that only scratches the surface: Gazan society has started to disintegrate.
The number of suicides has reached unprecedented levels. The number of instances of murder within the family has grown: for instance, . . . women are stabbing their unemployed husbands. . . . There has been an increase in drug use, as well as crime in general and prostitution in particular. [There are also increasingly frequent instances] of teenage [girls] marrying much older men who are able to support them as a second or third wife. On the other hand, . . . young people aren’t getting married, and the average age of marriage is rising.
Several people in Gaza have already set themselves on fire in protest. In Tunis, such actions led to the Arab Spring. Gaza is also starting to flare up. While it is true that the population is religious, traditional, and more willing to accept its fate [than many other Arab societies], the pot is still about to boil over.
Read more on Ynet: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4769759,00.html