While Palestinians in Gaza hold funerals, in the West Bank Palestinians are holding demonstrations in support of Gaza residents.
Again Friday, Palestinians protested in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hundreds took to the streets in Ramallah – home to the Palestinian Authority – many hoisting Hamas flags, a rare sight in this West Bank city. Yesterday there were protests outside Israeli military installations, including Ofer prison and the Bet Eil base near Ramallah.
Across the West Bank protesters demanded an end to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip, which has already killed at least 20 Palestinians, and looks likely to claim more lives. There are three known Israeli deaths from rockets launched from Gaza.
In Ramallah, activists at a small protest in the city’s central Manara Square called on Israel to end the operation in Gaza but also for their own West Bank-based Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas to do more to help their fellow Palestinians in the isolated strip.
Ali Qaraqe at a protest in Ramallah's central El-Manara square. He says Palestnian leadership is not doing enough. (R. Collard/VOA)
Amid the chants yesterday, Ali Qaraqe expressed disappointment with his leaders – referring to President Abbas as Abu Mazan, as he is called by many here.
“Abu Mazan, the government, the authority - everyone who controls the West Bank hasn’t done anything. It’s not enough just to say you want to send something to Gaza,” said Qaraqe echoing the sentiment of many Palestinians.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil visited Gaza Friday and Qaraqe made a bold suggestion that Abbas also visit the besieged Strip.
“Abu Mazan should go to Gaza now. He has to do that. It means a lot, and everyone knows that. He is not better than the people in Gaza, he is one of us,” said Qaraqe. “So he should go to Gaza now. Not wait for the bombing to stop there.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership at his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012.
But the Palestinian president hasn’t been to Gaza since bloody clashes saw his Western-backed Fatah movement kicked out of the Strip five years ago. Since then the division between the Fatah movement, which rules the West Bank, and Hamas, which rules Gaza, has left Palestinians without a unified voice, and some say also more vulnerable to Israeli attacks.
It is both this inability to achieve reconciliation and fruitless cooperation with Israel that has hurt the popularity of President Abbas and his Palestinian Authority. The conflict in the Gaza Strip might accelerate the displeasure with Abbas. Despite his push for statehood in the United Nations, a September poll showed less than half of Palestinians said they were satisfied with his performance as president. The results also showed Palestinians would choose imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti over President Abbas in an election.
Dr. Samir Awad, a professor of political science at Birzeit University near Ramallah, said the popularity of the current leadership is very low and most West Bank residents are not happy with how Abbas is handling this latest crisis.
“Though he condemned the attacks strongly, he did not take any steps to ensure the people of Gaza and us are the same people,” said Awad. “The Palestinian Authority did not do anything to stop security coordination with Israel or even threaten future of peace talks during this attacks on Gaza.”
The security cooperation with Israel has been a grievance of many Palestinian activists. The Palestinian Authority’s security forces help to control protest in the West Bank and human rights organizations report severe abuse of Palestinians detained by these forces.
Palestinian police stood by yesterday as protesters shouted for unity between the West Bank and Gaza - chanting that they are one people - despite the geographical and political divisions.
So far, said Ilia Ghorbia, another protester standing in Manara Square, the Palestinian authority has offered only lip service.
“They just speak, speak, speak,” said Ghorbia. “But [the Palestinian Authority] don’t do anything real to help people in Gaza. We are standing up for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. We can’t go there so at least we can stand up here and say that we are supporting them, that we are with them. They are part of our Palestine. This is what we can do for them.”
But the division between the West Bank and Gaza is growing. The divergent economic, social and political conditions are now compounded with a war in Gaza and increasing casualties there. As Hamas fires rockets, the West Bank security forces control crowds of supporters.
Mahdi Abdul Hadi, Director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, says the events in Gaza could change these dynamics and provide an opportunity for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and a stronger relationship with Egypt’s new government.
“President Abbas has a golden opportunity to share the responsibility,” said Abdul Hadi. “Abbas has an opportunity with the Hamas leadership and the Egyptian leadership. The leaders are in a unique position to work together to face these challenges.”
Nonetheless, few here seem optimistic.
“We have a very difficult situation now,” said one young Palestinian leaving today’s protest who asked his name not be used. As for a better future, he said,“In the West Bank we are looking to the U.N., and in Gaza they are looking to rockets.”
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