海角大神

The residents of Gaza have a name for the period of tribal lawlessness that plagued their impoverished territory between Israel鈥檚 withdrawal in 2005 and the Hamas takeover of 2007. Marred by rampant tit-for-tat murders, kidnappings, theft, and checkpoints run by armed clans, Gazans call these years ayam al-fowda, or the 鈥渄ays of chaos.鈥�

Those days are gone, however, after 2-1/2 years of strong Hamas rule successfully disarmed the territory鈥檚 rival clans 鈥� made up of just one or sometimes several extended families 鈥� and restored order again to Gaza鈥檚 streets.

But some of the same families responsible for much of Gaza鈥檚 violence before the Hamas takeover say the Islamist movement has since used crime control as a pretext to influence the clans鈥� unique system of tribal law 鈥� an ancient oral code experts say often contradicts Hamas鈥檚 own version of Islamic justice 鈥� by appointing pro-Hamas clan chiefs and pressuring local leaders to issue Islamic-style rulings.

Hamas officials say clan leaders, referred to locally as mukhtars, are free to practice their own methods of reconciliation, as long as the rule of law is respected and justice is served. But any overt politicization of the chiefs, historically seen as societal mediators in Gaza, may end up threatening the independence of a system experts say has regulated Gazan society at the grass-roots for centuries.

鈥淭his is a matter of the very deeply entrenched customs of Palestinian society,鈥� says the director of the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza, Khalil Abu Shammala. 鈥淎ny takeover or molding of this [tribal] system will most certainly affect the core of social relations in Gaza, especially when we take into consideration Hamas鈥檚 increasing Islamization of the law."

Gaza鈥檚 tribal code is a blend of pre-Islamic Bedouin traditions and customs dating back to the era of the Philistines, that are interwoven with, but not anchored in, some Islamic principles. With guidelines and punishments for everything from clashes between families and personal injury claims to disputes over land and even murder, the code can provide powerful social glue in the absence of a functioning state, analysts say.

Clan adjudication methods, often carried out in the homes of clan leaders over tea, are consensual between parties, and regularly end in the accused paying some sort of monetary compensation to the victim or the victim鈥檚 family.

Because formal courts under the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority were tarnished by accusations of corruption, the mukhtars听became virtually the only functioning judiciary in Gaza during the 鈥渄ays of chaos.鈥�

鈥淟ike all institutions, the judicial system was affected greatly by the Israeli occupation鈥� beginning after the Six-Day War of 1967, says Gaza-based lawyer Samer Mousa. Many Palestinians in Gaza viewed Israeli courts as biased, he adds. 鈥淭丑别 occupation strengthened the mukhtars,鈥� Mr. Mousa continues, 鈥渨ho became rooted very deeply in society as judicial mediators when the Palestinian Authority took over [in 1993].鈥�

Clan leaders feel political pressure from Hamas听

In the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, Abu Nabeel, a self-proclaimed apolitical mukhtar听responsible for judging disputes between thousands of his extended family members, sips sage tea and thumbs his prayer beads in a breezy, outdoor salon shaded with vine leaves.

He says he has been pressured to issue rulings in favor of Hamas, as well as privately chided for judgments the Islamist movement says are incompatible with Islam. Local Hamas policemen have asked him to counsel the women on their obligations as Muslims to wear the veil and 鈥渂ehave properly.鈥� Hamas recently banned women from riding motorbikes or scooters to 鈥減rotect community values.鈥�

鈥淲hat Hamas wants is to either replace us, or to have us work to strengthen them and their version of Islamic justice,鈥� Mr. Nabeel says. 鈥淲hen Hamas promotes or establishes its own mukhtars听and ignores the rest, it has nothing to do with their respect for the tribal code; it鈥檚 political.鈥�

Ancient clan laws 'clash with Islamic principles'听

Sometimes Gazans turn to the mukhtar听because Hamas officials can鈥檛 or won鈥檛 take the case for political reasons. For example, Fahim (not his real name) says his family was involved in a dispute with another family in northern Gaza, after some of the young men got into a fight after school.

Fahim鈥檚 brother and his cousin, both 17, were beaten by members of the other family. Fahim鈥檚 family went to the Hamas police to file a complaint. But the other family called on their relatives in the Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas. The police subsequently said they would cease investigating the crime.

So, Fahim鈥檚 family called on their clan鈥檚 mukhtar听to meet the other family鈥檚 mukhtar, and the two imposed a week-long truce on both families to temper bad feelings. They then began negotiations to solve the problem.

Araf Shaher, a mukhtar听also based in the south and known for settling disputes between smugglers in the network of tunnels under the Egyptian-Gazan border, says he will avoid Hamas pressure as long as he can.

鈥淚 have nothing to do with the Hamas police and their version of the law,鈥� Mr. Shaher says from his office in Rafah, also in the south. 鈥淢y rulings are based more on my own traditions, and Gaza鈥檚 traditions, than they are on Islam. There are many times when they clash directly with Islamic principles, especially when I am ruling on a murder. But I won鈥檛 change.鈥�

Islamic law calls for the death penalty when someone is murdered, says a senior Hamas official and member of its political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya. He says with a mukhtar, the crime can be absolved with either money or a simple apology.

Mr. Hayya says Hamas is interested in a more Islamic approach to grassroots conflict resolution, and Mousa says the movement is increasing the number of mukhtars听willing to hand out more Islamist-style judgments.

鈥淗amas prefers Islamic law,鈥� says Hayya. 鈥淏ecause in many cases the law used by clans is not just; it doesn鈥檛 go far enough. But Islamic law is precise, and there is no injustice because it is the law of God.鈥�

While Gaza鈥檚 many clans and their leaders filled an important void when institutions broke down after the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, they also promoted a violent lawlessness many Gazans are now grateful is gone.

Does Hamas law brings order, or authoritarianism?

Hamas says the calm they brought to Gaza鈥檚 streets actually gives the mukhtars听more legitimacy than they ever had under Fatah.

鈥淭丑别 mukhtars听in Gaza, they are now supported by the law,鈥� says Abu Nasser, an adviser on tribal affairs to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. 鈥淣ow, when the mukhtar听gives his judgment, people must follow it because they know he can call the police and impose the ruling on him in the name of the law.鈥�

Mr. Shammala agrees that the Hamas crackdown on the violent clan culture was a major success for the movement, but sees its interference in the age-old work of the mukhtars听as part of its overall consolidation of power in the territory.

鈥淗amas disarmed the clans, and that is one of the positive aspects of their rule in Gaza,鈥� says Shammala. 鈥淏ut to end the crime, they don鈥檛 have to meddle with social laws. It鈥檚 part of a power play. Whether it鈥檚 Islamic or based on control, they are using it to bring everything in Gaza under their umbrella.鈥�