Almost three months after Israel left the Gaza Strip, optimism has begun to fade among some Palestinian officials and businessmen who hoped the withdrawal would bring rapid benefits to their shattered economy.
Even the fanfare with which the Palestinian Authority marked last week's transfer of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to its control failed to lift the gloom. "A lot of people are fed up with celebrations," said Nasser Jabr, deputy economy minister. "What they want to see is something happening on the ground."
