Photos: Alienation drives young Palestinians beyond Fatah, Hamas

While Hamas, Fatah and others call for weekly shows of strength agaisnt the Gaza blockade or more recently Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, dozens turn out along the Gaza – Israel border daily, some in the colours of factions vying for a Palestinian state, others alienated and with affiliations only to freedom.

Updated on: Jan 25, 2018 11:11 AM IST

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A protester holds a Palestinian flag, posing at the scene of clashes with Israeli troops east of Gaza City on January 19, 2018. “The battle between us and the Israeli occupation has been ongoing for decades. We will continue to protest and resist as long as there is one Israeli occupier on our land. Trump and anyone else in this world will not be able to control our anger,” he said. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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A protester nicknamed Abu Akram, wearing a Hamas flag and protesting the Israeli blockade of Gaza, holds a sling during clashes with Israeli troops. While Hamas, Fatah and other groups call for weekly shows of strength on Fridays, dozens of stonepelters turn out along the border with Israel every day, even when, as last Friday, a protest is called off due to bad weather. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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A protester gestures while posing for a photograph. “I affiliate with Jerusalem. I know one thing, the one who is blockading me in Gaza, the one who prevented me from going to pursue my dream outside Gaza is standing behind that fence,” he said. Hamas and Fatah’s rivalry has failed to achieve a lasting unity agreement and conscious of the growing influence of the youth, both have tried to court them into backing reconciliation. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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This protester wearing a medical mask said, “The world must understand that unemployment is driving us all towards becoming fighters. We are not going to fight Hamas or Fatah, we will fight the Jews only.” The daily scene on the border shows, young Palestinians are increasingly put off by a four-year stalemate in peace talks, unemployment, lack of amenities, food and little progress towards healing internal rifts. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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“We are the fuel of the Intifada, but we are hungry and at home we have no electricity and our fathers have no jobs. This can’t bring about anything except an explosion,” said this 23-year-old unemployed graduate. People aged 15 to 29 make up a third of the population. Their frustration surfaces in social media criticism of their leaders that is met by with increasingly authoritarian responses. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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A Palestinian protester slings a stone towards Israeli forces. Slow and opaque unity efforts are another hot-button issue and underscore a common complaint by young people that party leaders do not think they count. In the absence of political dialogue within Palestinian factions or with Israel, many young Palestinians live in silence and some take to the streets. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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A Palestinian protester, nicknamed Abu Jaber, shows hands stained with the blood of a wounded friend during clashes with Israeli troops. “We protest against the crazy decision made by Trump on Jerusalem and against the hardship we have experienced for more than 10 years due to the Israeli blockade. I hope the blood which you can see on my hands will move the Arab and Muslim world to revolt against Israel and America,” he said. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Palestinian uprisings erupted in 1987 and in 2000, the latter after the failure of US-sponsored peace talks. A build-up of grievances could spark a new one, but would likely take broad public support and involvement by factions to keep it going. Till then, protestors like this one, hope to one day live out their dreams --of jobs and of freedom of movement. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)