Status: 08/18/2022 11:42 a.m
There have been clashes again between Palestinians and the Israeli army. The younger ones in particular are calling for a tougher course against Israel – and are harshly criticizing Palestinian President Abbas.
The noon prayer echoes through the winding streets of the old town of Nablus. One of the largest and oldest cities in the West Bank with its 6000 year old history. Just last week it was the scene of an Israeli army operation. Here they killed a senior member of the al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah’s military wing. Two other Palestinians were killed. Nablus hospitals reported 69 injured. The whole West Bank does not come to rest. A young man leans next to a stand with nuts and looks into the distance. He says:
We have no hope. we die here I am 30 years old, have never voted and have only been to Jerusalem once. The Israeli army didn’t let me into the old town. Israel doesn’t want peace. There will be more violence because we fight back. We are not interested in Mahmoud Abbas. He does nothing against the Israeli army. Because I can’t choose, I don’t care who comes next. We young people have to change something.
resentment and frustration
The frustration among the young Palestinians is growing – on the one hand at the inaction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who remained quiet after the Israeli army’s deployment last week. Secondly, because Abbas, who is 87 years old, has not stood for election in more than a decade.
“Abbas… so much corruption! The politicians here fill their pockets with money. Abbas is old and has nothing under control! No young person can build a life here!” grumbles a trader next door who sells spices and olives.
“Look, it’s midday and there are hardly any customers. Because the violence is escalating. I earn 60 percent less. Many take out loans, can’t pay them back and have to go to prison.”
Governor: “Generation has chosen the path of resistance”
Ibrahim Ramadan, the governor of Nablus and a leading member of Fatah, has his seat just a few minutes from the old town. He belongs to the old guard that grew up under Abbas. He defends the Palestinian Authority’s reluctance:
President Abbas will not say he wants war. But young people are much more violent. This is my son’s and my grandson’s generation. Maybe I failed. We thought it was the hippi generation running around with earrings and bracelets. They were also the driving force behind the riots in Jerusalem last year. This generation has chosen the path of resistance – also by force of arms.
His hands are tied, he says. Above his dark wood desk are faded pictures of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, who will also soon be a thing of the past. The vacuum created by the increasingly unpopular Abbas is used by other terrorist organizations such as Islamic Jihad.
According to Israeli media reports, Fatah supporters and members of the Al-Aqsa Brigades also sympathize with other terrorist organizations in the West Bank and in Nablus.
Demand for a new government
A resistance fighter from Nablus, who did not reveal his name or organization, says he wants a new unity government of Hamas and Fatah and that all young Palestinians stick together and fight together. His generation is ready to die for that. “Few of us have F16 rifles. We can’t compare what the Israeli army has in terms of weapons. We believe in our right to be here and to live with dignity. The occupation is not fought with politics but with the resistance on the ground road to be finished,” he says.
Empty tear gas and stun grenades and ammunition lie around on the table in front of him. The room has filled with young men. Some nod. They also don’t believe that things will calm down in the West Bank any time soon.
Too soft on Israel: Palestinian criticism of Abbas grows
Bettina Meier, ARD Tel Aviv, 17.8.2022 9:39 p.m