How the West Bank was domesticated
By: Ola al-Tamimi
Published Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Gazans could not hide their disappointment with their fellow Palestinians in the West Bank. They believe that one main reason why confrontations broke out with Israel was their rage over what the occupation forces did to West Bank residents. Now they are waiting for them to reciprocate as they follow some of the confrontations there.
Hebron – As the war on the Gaza Strip continues and the massacres multiply, the occupied West Bank is still in instant reaction mode. A day of mourning and a general strike were announced only after al-Shujayah massacre, i.e., after more than ten days of the Israeli war whose victims - the dead, injured and displaced - continue to rise. The strike was the result of a decision by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which means a simple decision such as announcing a day of mourning for the martyrs was not popular-based or spontaneous but rather was subject to a decision taken by an authority responsible for security coordination with Israel when it felt that popular frustration might reach a boiling point.
While the massacres continue in Palestinian neighborhoods and refugee camps and more than 153,000 people have fled their homes in Gaza, popular anger is exploding in the Strip but Gazans are wondering why the uprising in the West Bank, which sparked the escalation in this last round, has died down.
Not to defend the silence of West Bank residents or exaggerate the daily confrontations with the occupation forces but to answer the question about the West Bank and its role requires understanding the reality that has been created by the illusions of economic peace and the Third Way.
in full: http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/how-west-bank-was-domesticated
Israeli soldiers take cover during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators at the entrance of Israeli-run Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia, on July 18, 2014, following a protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. (Photo: AFP-Abbas Momani)