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| Spectators to War, West Bank Residents Hail the Hamas Fight Against Israel | Spectators to War, West Bank Residents Hail the Hamas Fight Against Israel |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| AL AMARI REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — Maher al-Naden, a street cleaner, said he had stopped buying Tapuzina, a popular Israeli orange-flavored drink, and Israeli dairy products. | AL AMARI REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — Maher al-Naden, a street cleaner, said he had stopped buying Tapuzina, a popular Israeli orange-flavored drink, and Israeli dairy products. |
| “This is the least we can do,” he said this week, expressing frustration as a West Bank Palestinian who is essentially a spectator of the war in Gaza. Across the alley from where he stood, in this teeming refugee camp abutting Ramallah, a small Internet cafe called Facebook bore a new-looking sign with a silhouette of a masked, armed fighter. | “This is the least we can do,” he said this week, expressing frustration as a West Bank Palestinian who is essentially a spectator of the war in Gaza. Across the alley from where he stood, in this teeming refugee camp abutting Ramallah, a small Internet cafe called Facebook bore a new-looking sign with a silhouette of a masked, armed fighter. |
| More than two weeks into the deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, here in the realm of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, daily life has continued more or less as normal, punctuated by nighttime clashes at friction points around the West Bank between stone-throwing youths and Israeli forces. | More than two weeks into the deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, here in the realm of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, daily life has continued more or less as normal, punctuated by nighttime clashes at friction points around the West Bank between stone-throwing youths and Israeli forces. |
| On Thursday night, thousands of Palestinians marched from Al Amari to the Qalandia checkpoint that separates Ramallah from Jerusalem, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing black T-shirts with the slogan, “We are all Gaza.” Some middle-class families came with children; in the front lines, dozens of masked young men hurled stones and firecrackers and clashed with Israeli security forces, roaring, “With our soul and blood, we will redeem Gaza.” | On Thursday night, thousands of Palestinians marched from Al Amari to the Qalandia checkpoint that separates Ramallah from Jerusalem, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing black T-shirts with the slogan, “We are all Gaza.” Some middle-class families came with children; in the front lines, dozens of masked young men hurled stones and firecrackers and clashed with Israeli security forces, roaring, “With our soul and blood, we will redeem Gaza.” |
| Two protesters were reported killed, bringing the total number of protesters killed in the West Bank in the last week to five. | Two protesters were reported killed, bringing the total number of protesters killed in the West Bank in the last week to five. |
| But for many in the West Bank, the geographical separation has only underscored the deep emotional bonds and the desire for closer political unity with Gaza, which is dominated by Hamas, the Islamic militant group — a demand that would further complicate relations with Israel. | But for many in the West Bank, the geographical separation has only underscored the deep emotional bonds and the desire for closer political unity with Gaza, which is dominated by Hamas, the Islamic militant group — a demand that would further complicate relations with Israel. |
| Just three months ago, Hamas, financially strapped and diplomatically isolated, agreed to a reconciliation deal with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and his secularist Fatah faction after a bitter, seven-year division, on minimal terms that analysts said reflected the Islamic group’s weakness. | Just three months ago, Hamas, financially strapped and diplomatically isolated, agreed to a reconciliation deal with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and his secularist Fatah faction after a bitter, seven-year division, on minimal terms that analysts said reflected the Islamic group’s weakness. |
| Now Hamas — which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and is considered a terrorist organization by much of the West — is being hailed in the West Bank as the champion of armed resistance, while Mr. Abbas, who leads the alternative camp advocating a negotiated peace deal with Israel, is being excoriated for having failed to achieve a Palestinian state after 20 years of intermittent and fruitless Israeli-Palestinian talks. | Now Hamas — which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and is considered a terrorist organization by much of the West — is being hailed in the West Bank as the champion of armed resistance, while Mr. Abbas, who leads the alternative camp advocating a negotiated peace deal with Israel, is being excoriated for having failed to achieve a Palestinian state after 20 years of intermittent and fruitless Israeli-Palestinian talks. |
| Israel has long supported Mr. Abbas as a peace partner, but it suspended the troubled American-brokered negotiations with the Palestinians in April after Mr. Abbas reached the reconciliation deal with Hamas. Hamas’s rise in popularity in the West Bank, however temporary, further undermines Mr. Abbas and makes Israel’s demand for a cancellation of the unity deal less likely. | Israel has long supported Mr. Abbas as a peace partner, but it suspended the troubled American-brokered negotiations with the Palestinians in April after Mr. Abbas reached the reconciliation deal with Hamas. Hamas’s rise in popularity in the West Bank, however temporary, further undermines Mr. Abbas and makes Israel’s demand for a cancellation of the unity deal less likely. |
| “I give my children to Hamas,” said Mr. Naden, describing himself as “just one of the people,” and not a member of any political faction. “We’ve been in this camp nearly 70 years.” | “I give my children to Hamas,” said Mr. Naden, describing himself as “just one of the people,” and not a member of any political faction. “We’ve been in this camp nearly 70 years.” |
| He noted with pride that Hamas had forced foreign airlines to cancel flights to Tel Aviv after a rocket from Gaza struck near the airport on Tuesday. (The United States Federal Aviation Administration lifted the restrictions late Thursday.) “My son, who is 10, is asking how he can join these people,” he said. | |
| Mr. Abbas, who met in Ramallah on Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry as part of an international effort to broker a cease-fire, has been maneuvering to redeem some lost credit as one of the few mediators who can talk directly to all involved parties, including Hamas, the Egyptian leadership, the Obama administration, Qatar and Turkey. | Mr. Abbas, who met in Ramallah on Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry as part of an international effort to broker a cease-fire, has been maneuvering to redeem some lost credit as one of the few mediators who can talk directly to all involved parties, including Hamas, the Egyptian leadership, the Obama administration, Qatar and Turkey. |
| In a strong speech on Tuesday night that analysts said brought him closer to Hamas’s conditions, Mr. Abbas assailed the “brutal Israeli offensive in Gaza.” He called for a cease-fire that would lead, among other things, to an opening of Gaza’s borders; the eradication of the Israeli-imposed buffer zone; the release of Hamas prisoners who were freed by Israel in 2011 in exchange for Gilad Shalit, a captive Israeli soldier, then recently rearrested; and a donor conference for the rebuilding of Gaza. “To our people in Gaza: Your pain is our pain,” he said. A follow-up statement from the Palestinian leadership called on the Palestinian “masses” to hold prayers in the mosques on Friday for Gaza’s dead to be followed by marches all over the Palestinian territories. | In a strong speech on Tuesday night that analysts said brought him closer to Hamas’s conditions, Mr. Abbas assailed the “brutal Israeli offensive in Gaza.” He called for a cease-fire that would lead, among other things, to an opening of Gaza’s borders; the eradication of the Israeli-imposed buffer zone; the release of Hamas prisoners who were freed by Israel in 2011 in exchange for Gilad Shalit, a captive Israeli soldier, then recently rearrested; and a donor conference for the rebuilding of Gaza. “To our people in Gaza: Your pain is our pain,” he said. A follow-up statement from the Palestinian leadership called on the Palestinian “masses” to hold prayers in the mosques on Friday for Gaza’s dead to be followed by marches all over the Palestinian territories. |
| Another resident of Al Amari, Muhammad Abu Leila, who owns a grocery store, said of Mr. Abbas, “The people do not wait for his permission to demonstrate.” Mr. Abu Leila, whose store still stocks Israeli products, noted that many Palestinian families had members who support rival factions. “There may be a political division,” he said, “but there is no division among the people.” | Another resident of Al Amari, Muhammad Abu Leila, who owns a grocery store, said of Mr. Abbas, “The people do not wait for his permission to demonstrate.” Mr. Abu Leila, whose store still stocks Israeli products, noted that many Palestinian families had members who support rival factions. “There may be a political division,” he said, “but there is no division among the people.” |
| Mustafa Barghouti, an independent politician who helped negotiate the reconciliation deal, said Mr. Abbas “is trying to catch up because the people are way ahead of the leadership; the people are in total support of Gaza.” | Mustafa Barghouti, an independent politician who helped negotiate the reconciliation deal, said Mr. Abbas “is trying to catch up because the people are way ahead of the leadership; the people are in total support of Gaza.” |
| “Right now, we are seeing a transitional moment,” Mr. Barghouti added. “The events oblige all of us to get unified.” | “Right now, we are seeing a transitional moment,” Mr. Barghouti added. “The events oblige all of us to get unified.” |
| He was speaking at a demonstration on Wednesday organized by the Ramallah municipal authorities. Hundreds of Palestinians carried 600 mock coffins wrapped in Palestinian flags through the city and laid them in front of the United Nations headquarters, labeled with the names and ages of Gaza’s dead. | He was speaking at a demonstration on Wednesday organized by the Ramallah municipal authorities. Hundreds of Palestinians carried 600 mock coffins wrapped in Palestinian flags through the city and laid them in front of the United Nations headquarters, labeled with the names and ages of Gaza’s dead. |
| At a main junction, a huge screen ran a loop of pictures of death and destruction from Gaza. In a bustling street near Manara Square where crowds were shopping for Ramadan, a souvenir store selling music CDs and Palestinian paraphernalia was blasting out Hamas songs and doing a brisk trade in kaffiyehs, the traditional black-and-white checkered head scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance, going for about $4 apiece. | At a main junction, a huge screen ran a loop of pictures of death and destruction from Gaza. In a bustling street near Manara Square where crowds were shopping for Ramadan, a souvenir store selling music CDs and Palestinian paraphernalia was blasting out Hamas songs and doing a brisk trade in kaffiyehs, the traditional black-and-white checkered head scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance, going for about $4 apiece. |
| Rama Shaheen, 12, came in to buy one “for the demonstration” on Thursday. Her aunt Dina Shaheen, who lives in Dallas and is visiting relatives in Jerusalem and Ramallah, said at least 25 members of the family were planning to attend the march. “Everybody is going,” she said. | Rama Shaheen, 12, came in to buy one “for the demonstration” on Thursday. Her aunt Dina Shaheen, who lives in Dallas and is visiting relatives in Jerusalem and Ramallah, said at least 25 members of the family were planning to attend the march. “Everybody is going,” she said. |
| Elias Saa, the owner of the store, said he had sold 300 CDs of Hamas songs since the beginning of the war, with lyrics like “Attack Jews in every piece of the land,” the music punctuated by the sound of automatic gunfire. Mr. Saa said it was a “best seller.” | Elias Saa, the owner of the store, said he had sold 300 CDs of Hamas songs since the beginning of the war, with lyrics like “Attack Jews in every piece of the land,” the music punctuated by the sound of automatic gunfire. Mr. Saa said it was a “best seller.” |
| A nearby toy shop said its most popular item was its line in plastic guns and grenades. In Nablus, in the northern West Bank, one entrepreneur was selling rocket-shaped balloons, according to a Palestinian newspaper report. | A nearby toy shop said its most popular item was its line in plastic guns and grenades. In Nablus, in the northern West Bank, one entrepreneur was selling rocket-shaped balloons, according to a Palestinian newspaper report. |
| “Either we live in dignity or we die in dignity,” said Jafar al-Najajirah, 26, a civil engineer from the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Like many young West Bank residents, he has never been to Gaza, a trip that requires special permission from Israel. “Even among ordinary people like myself, the camp of resistance now has the upper hand.” | “Either we live in dignity or we die in dignity,” said Jafar al-Najajirah, 26, a civil engineer from the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Like many young West Bank residents, he has never been to Gaza, a trip that requires special permission from Israel. “Even among ordinary people like myself, the camp of resistance now has the upper hand.” |
| Ayed Thawabteh, a stone cutter and Fatah activist from Hebron in the southern West Bank, said thousands of residents joined marches in that city every night. “We are like brothers,” Mr. Thawabteh said of Fatah and Hamas. “We can fight, and we can reconcile.” | Ayed Thawabteh, a stone cutter and Fatah activist from Hebron in the southern West Bank, said thousands of residents joined marches in that city every night. “We are like brothers,” Mr. Thawabteh said of Fatah and Hamas. “We can fight, and we can reconcile.” |