Now scattered, the activists admit to a range of reactions, including disappointment. We went. We participated for a half hour, but we didn't like the atmosphere, says Amal Murtaja, 21, who attended with a fellow Gaza blogger, Lina Al-Sharif. We wanted to create a beautiful spirit of ending the division, but it ended up being a speech party, says Al-Sharif, who had promoted the demonstrations on a webcast with West Bank organizers. At the end of the day, politicians were hijacking the event and we were back at square one. This is not what we wanted to see. It was so frustrating.

Others were angry. Majd AbuSalama, 21, had regarded Gaza's violent history only from a distance until she decided to take part in the March 15 protests — and ended up black and blue, after being assaulted by Hamas supporters. She's now determined to continue one way or another. If they beat a girl they can do anything, she says. I was only raising slogans, and these slogans weren't against them. I don't deserve what I got.

Of those who went underground, the challenge has become to keep their eyes on the prize. We don't want our movement to stop being about the division and start being about Hamas, says Abu Yazan.