Mohammad Dahlan - Daniel Bar-On - August 2011 Mohammad Dahlan
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during my first Ramadan in Gaza, 17 years ago, I learned how not
to risk my life, by keeping away from the streets from 12 noon
until the meal that breaks the fast begins. I have attempted to
stick to this preventive measure ever since, in the cities of
the West Bank too. It isn't religiously correct to say so, I
know, but six or seven hours after the daily fast begins, most
drivers are less diligent about other cars, pedestrians and
traffic laws. Just their incessant honking is enough to keep
people with high blood pressure at home. And it isn't
necessarily the abstention from food and drink: The complete
withdrawal from cigarettes and coffee distracts drivers from the
road.  And so for a month, the withdrawal process begins anew
each day: From the end of the meal until dawn, there is time to
take in a double quantity of nicotine and caffeine. All this
does not negate my admiration for the