Israel Palestine Infos
Uri
Avnery
September
15,
2012
Protest
in
Ramallah
VISITING
RAMALLAH
after
an
absence
of
several
months,
I
was
again
amazed
by
the
ongoing
building
activity.
Everywhere
new
high-rise
buildings
are
going
up,
and
many
of
them
are
beautiful.
(Arabs
seem
to
have
an
innate
talent
for
architecture,
as
any
world
anthology
of
architecture
affirms.)
The
building
boom
seems
to
be
a
good
sign,
confirming
Israeli
assertions
that
the
economy
in
the
occupied
My
destination
was
a
diplomatic
reception.
Some
high
functionaries
of
the
Palestinian
Authority
and
other
upper-class
Palestinians
attended.
I
exchanged
pleasantries
with
the
Palestinian
Prime
Minister,
Salam
Fayyad,
and
some
of
the
well-dressed
guests,
and
enjoyed
the
delicacies.
I
did
not
discern
any
excitement.
Nobody
would
have
guessed
that
at
that
very
moment,
in
the
center
of
the
city,
a
stormy
demonstration
was
taking
place.
It
was
the
beginning
of
a
massive
protest
that
is
still
going
on.
THE
DEMONSTRATORS
in
Ramallah
and
other
towns
and
villages
in
the
Palestinian
journalists
told
me
that
the
price
of
gasoline
in
the
West
Bank
is
almost
the
same
as
in
Recently,
on
the
Muslim
Eid
al-Fitr
holiday
ending
the
Ramadan
month
of
fasting,
the
occupation
authorities
surprisingly
allowed
150
thousand
Palestinians
to
enter
(By
the
way,
not
a
single
incident
was
reported
that
day.)
THE
PROTESTS
were
against
the
Palestinian
Authority.
It’s
a
bit
like
a
dog
biting
the
stick,
instead
of
the
man
who
is
wielding
it.
Actually,
the
PA
is
quite
helpless.
It
is
bound
by
the
Amira
Hass
of
Haaretz
quotes
the
following
conditions:
inhabitants
of
the
Gaza
Strip
are
not
allowed
to
export
their
agricultural
products;
Israel
exploits
the
water,
minerals
and
other
assets
in
the
West
Bank;
Palestinian
villagers
pay
much
higher
prices
for
water
than
Israeli
settlers;
Gaza
fishermen
cannot
fish
beyond
three
miles
from
the
shore;
Palestinian
inhabitants
are
forbidden
to
travel
on
the
main
highways,
compelling
them
to
make
costly
and time-consuming
detours.
But
more
than
any
restrictions,
it’s
the
occupation
itself
that
makes
any
real
improvement
impossible.
What
serious
foreign
investor
would
go
to
a
territory
where
everything
is
subject
to
the
whims
of
a
military
government
which
has
every
motive
for
keeping
its
subjects
down?
A
territory
where
every
act
of
resistance
can
provoke
brutal
retaliation,
such
as
the
physical
destruction
of
Palestinian
offices
in
the
2002
“Operation
Defensive
Shield”?
Where
goods
for
export
can
rot
for
months,
if
an
Israeli
competitor
bribes
an
official?
Donor
nations
can
give
some
money
to
the
Palestinian
Authority
to
keep
it
alive,
but
they
cannot
change
the
situation.
Neither
would
the
abolition
of
the
STILL,
THE
situation
in
the
West
Bank
remains
far
better
than
the
situation
in
the
True,
as
a
result
of
the
“Turkish
flotilla”,
the
blockade
of
the
Strip
has
been
lifted
to
a
large
extent.
Almost
everything
can
now
be
brought
into
the
Strip
from
However,
lately
the
situation
there
has been
improving
rapidly.
The
hundreds
of
tunnels
under
the
Egyptian-Gaza
border
are
in
practice
bringing
in
everything,
from
cars
to
gasoline
to
building
materials.
And
now,
with
the
Muslim
Brotherhood
in
power
in
Nabeel
Shaath,
the
top
Palestinian
diplomat,
told
me
at
the
reception
that
this
may
actually
be
a
major
obstacle
to
PLO-Hamas
reconciliation.
Hamas
may
want
to
wait
until
the
economic
situation
in
the
Strip
surpasses
that in
the
West
Bank,
reinforcing
their
chances
to
win
all-Palestinian
elections
again.
Mahmoud
Abbas,
on
his
part,
hopes
that
the
new
Egyptian
president
will
convince
the
Americans
to
support
the
(When
I
reminded
Shaath
that
years
ago
I
attended
his
wedding
at
DESPITE
THE
economic
troubles,
the
picture
of
the
Palestinians
as
a
helpless,
pitiable
victim
is
far
removed
from
reality.
Israelis
may
like
to
think
so,
as
well
as
pro-Palestinian
sympathizers
around
the
world.
But
the
Palestinian
spirit
is
unbroken.
Palestinian
society
is
vibrant
and
self-reliant.
Most
Palestinians
are
determined
to
achieve
a
state
of
their
own.
Abbas
may
ask
the
UN
General
Assembly
to
recognize
On
the
way
to
the
reception
I
did
not
see
a
single
women
in the streets
with
her
hair
uncovered.
The
hijab
was
everywhere.
I
remarked
on
this
to
a
Palestinian
friend,
who
is
quite
unreligious.
“Islam
is
gaining,”
he
said.
“But
that
may
be
a
good
thing,
because
it
is
a
moderate
form
of
Islam
that
will
block
the
radical
ones.
It
is
the
same
as
in
many
other
Arab
countries.”
I
did
not
perceive
any
sympathy
for
the
Ayatollahs
of
SINCE
my
visit,
the
demonstrations
in
Ramallah
have
intensified.
It
seems
that
Fayyad
serves
as
a
kind
of
lightning
rod
for
Abbas.
I
don’t
think
that
this
is
just.
Fayyad
seems
to
be
a
decent
person.
He
is
a
professional
economist,
a
former
official
of
the
International
Monetary
Fund.
He
is
not
a
politician,
not
even
a
Fatah
member.
His
economic
viewpoint
may
be
conservative,
but
I
don’t
think
that
this
makes
much
of
a
difference
considering
the
situation
in
Sooner
or
later,
and
probably
sooner
rather
than
later,
the
wrath
of
the
Palestinian
poor
will
change
direction.
Instead
of
blaming
the
Palestinian
Authority,
they
will
turn
against
their
real
oppressor:
the
occupation.
The
Israeli
government
is
aware
of
this
possibility,
and
therefore
made
haste
to
pay
the
PA
an
advance
on
the
tax
money
that
Israel
owes
the
PA.
Otherwise
the
PA
–
by
far
the
biggest
employer
in
the
West
Bank
–
would
be
unable
to
pay
salaries
at
the
end
of
this
month.
But
that
is
only
a
stopgap
measure.
Binyamin
Netanyahu
may
stick
to
the
illusion
that
all
is
quiet
on
the
Palestinian
front,
so
that
he
can
concentrate
on
his
efforts
to
get
Mitt
Romney
elected
and
frighten
But
this
illusion
is,
well,
an
illusion.
In
our
conflict,
nothing
is
ever
frozen.
Not
only
are
the
settlement
activities
going
on
steadily
-
if
quietly
-
but
on
the
Palestinian
side,
too,
things
are
moving.
Pressures
are
building
up.
At
some
time,
they
will
explode.
When
the
Arab
Spring
finally
arrives
in
Some
Palestinians
dream
about
a
new
intifada,
with
masses
of
people
marching
non-violently
against
the
symbols
of
the
occupation.
This
may
be
too
much
to
hope
for
–
Martin
Luther
King
was
no
Arab.
But
the
demonstrations
in
Ramallah
and
There
is
still
truth
in
the
old
saying,
that
the conflict here
is
a
clash
between
an
irresistible
force
and
an
immovable
object.