Gazans

The actual result of Israeli policy seems to be: hit Gazans hard and they only get angrier.

Some Gazans fear it is a ruse to lull them into a sense of false security before Israel's tanks roll back and try again to topple Hamas.

The state-run AI-Ahram newspaper said the beginning of next week will be the last chance for Gazans to return home.

And though they profess to limit their jihad to the enemy outside, their most violent acts have been against other Gazans.

There were reports of scuffles with Gazans who still wanted to cross into Egypt, but most reports said the situation remained fairly calm.

Supposedly to stiffen Gazans' resolve, the Qassam Brigades have begun to suppress the emerging good life in the strip.

It has also left most Gazans without a productive form of employment.

Gazans living close by said the response came swiftly.

Some Gazans fear that Israeli merchants will sell cheap produce in Gaza, as they used to before the siege.

If Israel has any plan to help the Gazans and move them back towards peace, it is not apparent.

Exports are banned, the naval blockade is still in place, and most Gazans cannot yet freely come and go.

The Gazans are in effect under siege, with intermittent water and electricity and patchy supplies of medicine and food.

Other aid, such as for rebuilding homes, would go directly to the bank accounts of Gazans.

Gazans cannot obtain electricity, fuel or alternative sources of energy from elsewhere because of the blockades imposed by Israel.

The aim is to choke the economy and push the Gazans into the unwilling embrace of Egypt.

Not incidentally, Gazans, like that Swedish Ikea designer, made their own culture from the bricolage of global choices.

For the time being, however, a stalemate prevails, with Gazans as glum as before.

For most Gazans, it is the best way to escape the Israeli blockade, and as the quality of their life deteriorates, its popularity has grown.

Israelis hope that when Gazans see the brightening prospects of the West Bank they will turn against Hamas.

Most Gazans cannot travel at all.

In other words, hit the Gazans hard enough, and common sense will take over.

Egypt, too, has relaxed its siege, letting Gazans holiday abroad, not least in Sinai's fleshpots, for the first time in years.

What are Israel's obligations to Gazans?

With Gazans locked inside the 40km by 10km (154 square-mile) strip, the siege has given Hamas a free hand to mould the place.

Branded a 'happy pill', it replaces reality with illusion as more and more Gazans are swallowing it.