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On a cold, wintry afternoon in Gaza City, eight men sat around a fire in front of a used car showroom - watching the world go by on Jalla Street.
And along with the chill and the rain, there was politics in the air.
This is election time, and all the way up the busy street there are party banners and flags.
The Palestinian legislative elections will be the first since 1996
Palestinian parliamentary election candidates stared out of posters pasted on the walls of the run-down Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.
Behind the second-hand cars - around the fire - they knew what they wanted most out of the campaign.
"The election is very important firstly from the security point of view. We live in chaos. We want a parliament that makes laws," Nizar Ghabin, a man in a black baseball cap, said.
And down the length of the Gaza Strip you hear the same thing. People are deeply disturbed by lawlessness which comes in various forms.
There have been years of violent confrontation with the occupying Israeli army - which only withdrew from Gaza last summer.
There are numerous small militia groups, and many weapons in the hands of young men with few prospects.
There have been kidnappings and violent demonstrations by minor militant bands pressing demands for jobs, or the release of prisoners.
Clans
Then there are the clan feuds between armed and powerful families. They are more frequent now - and more deadly.
For weeks Gaza has watched a major feud rage between two northern clans.
It flares up every few days. There have been shoot-outs in the streets and several deaths.
Among the men sipping tea, gathered around the fire on Jalla Street, were two police officers.
One of them tried to explain why the security forces stand by and seem to do almost nothing in the face of the upheaval.
"The power is with the clans," he said.
Militant groups have vowed not to disrupt the poll
Many members of the security forces have loyalties to the major families and militant groups, and this badly weakens the ability of the police to take decisive action.
But Gaza's lawlessness also comes in more subtle and pervasive forms too.
There is a huge sense on the streets that corruption at many levels in the governing Palestinian Authority goes completely unpunished.
"If there is no law there is nothing," said Mr Ghabin, a civil servant in his early forties.
"As soon as we have law everything will be alright. The one who steals will be punished, even if he's a minister or a prime minister. The law applies to all - from the top man down."
Unemployment
Along with their concerns about security and order, Gazans are demanding that their politicians find ways to provide jobs.
The confrontation with Israel is a constant presence
The years of confrontation with the Israeli army have shattered the economy. And now what remains of it struggles to cope with the stringent Israeli controls over all Gaza's trade routes.
Israel says it has to guard against the continual threat of attack from militants here.
A few home-made rockets are still fired into Israel on an almost daily basis, although they rarely cause injury or damage.
The militants say they are retaliating for Israeli army actions in the occupied West Bank.
During the intifada that began in 2000 about five suicide bombers from Gaza managed to penetrate Israel's defences.
A couple of days ago the main cargo crossing point between Gaza and Israel was again closed because of what the Israeli army said was a security alert.
Ordinary Palestinians regard such measures as part of an effort to strangle them economically.
Unemployment has been a major campaign issue
With the men around the fire was the owner of the car showroom, Ayman Nasrallah.
Looking out at his unsold vehicles he said: "The situation is broken. It's dead."
And sitting next to him Mr Ghabin said: "Look at any office - you can see that the work has stopped, the income has stopped. Even the government employees struggle to get through half the month."
Reform
Out on Jalla Street, activists from one of the minor parties trundled down the road in a mini bus. On the roof a huge black speaker blared out one of the anthems of the Palestinian uprising.
Although the campaign talk is mostly about security and jobs, the confrontation with Israel is a constant presence in the background.
It is not just opposition politicians from the Islamic militant group, Hamas, who say that this election is about reforming Palestinian society in a way that will make it better able to face Israel. You hear that on the streets too.
Another of the men around the Jalla Street fire was Hamada Samur, a paint merchant wearing a denim jacket and sunglasses pushed up on top of his bald head.
"The Palestinian state will come sooner or later," he said.
"But to reach it we will have to re-organise ourselves."
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