![A man holds a bottle filled with water from the Gaza Strip that is unsuitable for drinking during an event in Gaza City on June 14, 2012 as fifty international organizations and UN agencies urged Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip to mark the fifth anniversary of the strengthening of that measure after the takeover of the Palestinian territory by Hamas. AFP PHOTO/ SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/GettyImages)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/146319530.jpg/146319530.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=gaN1LTmC)
Hazem Balousha is a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza City. He has worked as a news producer for BBC World Service, contributed to Deutsche Welle and has written for The Guardian, Al-Raya (Qatar) and other publications. He is the founder of the Palestinian Institute for Communication and Development (PICD). On Twitter: @iHaZeMi
![A man holds a bottle filled with water from the Gaza Strip that is unsuitable for drinking during an event in Gaza City on June 14, 2012 as fifty international organizations and UN agencies urged Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip to mark the fifth anniversary of the strengthening of that measure after the takeover of the Palestinian territory by Hamas. AFP PHOTO/ SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/GettyImages)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/146319530.jpg/146319530.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=gaN1LTmC)
![A Palestinian inmate stands behind the bars of a Hamas-run jail in Gaza City after prayers during the holy month of Ramadan July 23, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CRIME LAW) - RTR35878](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR35878.jpg/RTR35878.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=mRwtFxFn)
![Gaza runner Bahaa al-Farra stretches during a training session as children mimic him while posing for the camera in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City March 25, 2012. The 19-year-old trains for three hours a day in Gaza's Yarmouk soccer stadium, along the dusty streets and on the beach in well worn trainers that were donated to the Palestine Olympic Committee by wealthy Gulf state, Qatar, as he prepares to race at the London Olympics. Picture taken March 25, 2012. REUTERS/ Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: SPORT](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/1-RTR30063-001.jpg/1-RTR30063-001.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=10HcvzFY)
![Palestinian hold posters depicting Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez during a vigil outside the Venezuelan consulate in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 6, 2013. Chavez supported the Palestinian statehood aspirations. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: OBITUARY POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3ENOH](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR3ENOH.jpg/RTR3ENOH.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=ijp9gGe5)
![A Palestinian girl cries as she attends a rally protesting Monday's killing of the three sons of a Palestinian intelligence chief loyal to President Mahmous Abbas in Gaza December 13, 2006 in front of a poster depicting a schoolmate of the slain children. Tensions and violence have spiralled in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between Hamas and the rival Fatah faction of Abbas after attempts to form a national unity government failed. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) - RTR1KCOZ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/1-RTR1KCOZ.jpg/1-RTR1KCOZ.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=V4mf03oa)
![A Palestinian man carries flowers for export on a flower farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip December 20, 2012. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR3BRZM](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR3BRZM.jpg/RTR3BRZM.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=cg44VJ2_)
![A Palestinian youth tries to kick a tear gas canister back to Israeli troops during clashes with stone-throwers that broke out after a rally in the West Bank city of Hebron to show solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails February 18, 2013. Palestinians in the West Bank held demonstrations to show solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails on Monday, some of which sparked clashes with Israeli forces. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR3DYJR.jpg/RTR3DYJR.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=ulWtci4H)
![Members of the Hamas security forces and United Nations international experts prepare to destroy the remains of ordnance from an eight-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in 2012, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3E9UU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/1-RTR3E9UU.jpg/1-RTR3E9UU.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=A_d-dEYh)
![Palestinian youths throw stones during clashes with Israeli security forces near al-Aqsa mosque on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City October 5, 2012. Israeli police hurled stun grenades to disperse dozens of the protesters who threw stones outside the mosque, Islam's third holiest site, after Friday prayers. Tensions flared this week at the site after police arrested Israeli ultranationalists who tried to hold prayers at the compound revered](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/RTR38TQS.jpg/RTR38TQS.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=zevEvBI_)
![Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) shake hands as Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani sits between them during an agreement signing ceremony in Doha February 6, 2012. The leaders of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in Qatar on Monday to form a unity government of independent technocrats for the West Bank and Gaza, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. REUTERS/Stringer(QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2XEJX](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/1-RTR2XEJX.jpg/1-RTR2XEJX.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=SqqoWCgx)
![U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy after touring Linamar Corporation that manufactures parts for the truck industry in Arden, North Carolina, February 13, 2013. Obama visited the facility on Wednesday to promote economic policies outlined in his State of the Union speech. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - RTR3DQPD](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/1-RTR3DQPD-001.jpg/1-RTR3DQPD-001.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=u5ILEtbO)
![Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is seen on a video camera as he delivers a speech after an eight-day conflict in Gaza City November 22, 2012. A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot (GAZA - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR3AQB2](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/RTR3AQB2.jpg/RTR3AQB2.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=Y1PrcrvB)