Order Settles in Gaza, but Fears Persist

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle past a mural showing militant symbols in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Just days after Hamas' takeover, the chaotic Gaza Strip was already more orderly Wednesday. But the new stability did not dispel deep fears that Islamic militants would retaliate against their vanquished enemies, impose their harsh interpretation of Muslim law and make Gaza an international pariah. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) (Khalil Hamra - AP)

Hamas leaders are trying to allay Gazans' worries, promising that life under their regime will be far better than the chaos that plagued the territory in recent years, when its government involved Fatah officials widely viewed as corrupt.

"We know that our people are concerned about their future, but we want to assure them that the problems that might face us are not going to be worse than what we faced in the past," said Bassem Naim, a top Hamas official who was a Cabinet minister in the coalition Palestinian government that Abbas dissolved after the Gaza fighting.

Since taking over in Gaza, Hamas has forbidden people to carry weapons in public and sent its militiamen into the street to enforce the ban.

Some 700 volunteers went to schools to maintain order while students took final exams.

About 500 students, wearing green Hamas caps and yellow safety vests, are in the streets directing traffic.

"We don't want problems. Not between Hamas or Fatah _ or in traffic," Ahmad el-Dadoua, 18, said as he sweated in the hot sun trying vainly to bring sanity to a major intersection in Gaza City.

Many in Gaza welcome Hamas' law and order campaign.

Abu Jamal, 22, a peddler in a busy Gaza market, said he used to be harassed by opponents of Hamas' brand of Islam because he wore a beard, a sign of Islamic piety.

"Now we are safe. Women are safe as well. Men don't harass them anymore, they wouldn't dare," he said. "I don't know what will happen in the future, but right now I feel safer than I've felt before, and you can see that on the streets _ people have come out to shop."

Hamas has not demanded that women dress more modestly or wear head scarves, but some have begun doing so to avoid trouble.

"Maybe they'll be able to impose this on us, but right now nothing has changed," said Tahrir Hassan, an 18-year-old college student.

But secular Gazans worry the security campaign will be followed by a push to impose Islamic law.