Wow, the captions on Eid In The Middle East (you must capitalize it or you’re simply Missing. The. Point) are stunningly non-objective. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Well, yes, there is:
A Palestinian boy rides a horse during the holiday of Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 12, 2007. Thousands of Palestinians gathered early Friday in the Gaza Strip for dawn prayers celebrating the festival of Eid al-Fitr, but the atmosphere this year was hardly one of celebration. In Gaza, the festival is marked by international isolation, empty shelves and bitter internal rivalries, casting a pall over what is meant to be one of the happiest dates in the Muslim calendar.
Here’s another one from the same story:
Palestinians pray during the first day of the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the West Bank town of Jenin, Friday, Oct. 12, 2007. Thousands of Palestinians gathered early Friday in the Gaza Strip and across the West Bank for dawn prayers celebrating the festival of Eid al-Fitr, but the atmosphere this year was hardly one of celebration.
And this is from the story, which is about Hamas warning Fatah that it’s a “trap” to negotiate with Israel:
Gaza’s international isolation, empty shelves and bitter internal rivalries cast a pall over the Eid al-Fitr holiday – meant to be one of the happiest dates on the Muslim calendar.
Israel has barred the entrance of all goods to the territory except humanitarian aid, and Western governments have imposed a financial boycott.
Deepening the misery are ongoing clashes between the Israeli military and Gaza militants who fire rockets almost daily into Israel.
Because tensions between members of Hamas and Fatah in Gaza remain high, Hamas security forces were deployed in the streets to keep order during the holiday.
Even Friday’s prayers were divided along factional lines, with separate locations for supporters of Gaza’s Hamas rulers and their rivals from Abbas’ Fatah.
Please note who is blamed first in the order of misery that is the end of the story. And if that wasn’t enough for you, there’s always this one:
Muslim Holiday Begins in Most of Mideast
Most of the Middle East on Friday marked the start of the feast marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with crisis, violence, fear and isolation all casting a pall over one of the happiest dates on the Islamic calendar.In Baghdad, Beirut and Gaza, the beginning three-day Eid al-Fitr festival was somber and muted.
Pass out the hankies. I’m feeling a little choked up.