by Prof. Hillel Frisch
The Palestinian silent majority is tired of sacrificing their sons on behalf of these warring factions.
President Trump at the Western Wall in
Jerusalem, Israel, May 22, 2017, photo by Matty Stern, US Embassy Tel
Aviv, via Wikimedia Commons
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 678, December 8, 2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The PA
and Hamas are hopeful that unorganized Palestinian youth will mobilize
against President Trump’s declaration acknowledging that Jerusalem is
Israel’s capital. A groundswell from the streets would preclude the
necessity for the two organizations to actively take the lead. However,
the readers of al-Quds, the Palestinian silent majority, are loath to sacrifice their sons on behalf of the warring factions.
On December 6, 2017, President Donald Trump
announced that the US is officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital
of Israel. A quick read of the major Palestinian media outlets reveals
what the various Palestinian actors consider the appropriate response.
The picture is reminiscent of the three bowls of
soup in the tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” There was a call for a
fierce, blood-curdling response (hot), an expression of hope that the
announcement will trigger a third intifada (warm, though really only a
few degrees shy of the first response), and a hope that there will be no
popular response (cold).
The “warm” response appeared in al-Hayat al-Jadida, the
newspaper set up by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which strictly
expresses the position of Mahmoud Abbas. The PA, remember, is obligated
by the various accords signed during the Oslo peace process to behave
peacefully and to refrain from any form of incitement. There is nothing
peaceful in the headline that appeared in the PA mouthpiece: “Tension, a
Third Intifada Likely to Break Out the Moment Trump Declares Jerusalem
the Capital of Israel.”
The accompanying photo (immediately below)
reflects the suggestion that while the PA is not spelling out its
outright support for such an outcome, the reader is welcome to read
between the lines.
Photo credit: al-Hayat al-Jadida
No such restraint characterizes the Hamas
mouthpiece, Resala.net, which published the photo below with the caption
“A Call to Arms for the Sake of Jerusalem.” Again, the photo matches
the sentiment in the headline. Whereas the photo chosen by the PA
mouthpiece can be construed (with difficulty) as defensive, Hamas chose
an actively violent throwing of rocks.
Photo credit: Resala.net
The most important element in the Hamas article is what was left unsaid.
The reported “days of rage” that the Palestinian
factions are planning for the days ahead will consist, Hamas hopes, of
mass violent protests. There is no mention of plans by Hamas leadership
to initiate a fourth round of fighting between Hamas and Israel through
the launching of missiles or tunnel raids, which is naturally good news
from an Israeli perspective. The support for a groundswell of violence
as expressed in the Hamas outlet, and the accompanying photo, suggest
that the organization prefers to be let off the hook. It will likely do
very little directly against the declaration.
In al-Quds, which is by far the most
widely read Palestinian news site, there is no allusion to popular
protest whatsoever. Instead, the main headlines address expected stormy
weather in Jerusalem, several statements by UN and EU officials opposed
to the US decision, and the charging of several individuals in Saudi
Arabia with corruption.
Al-Quds represents the business class –
i.e., the Palestinian silent majority – in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Obviously, the position it takes on the subject, declaratively in
support of the PA’s hoped-for opposition but structuring its front page
to minimize the urgency of the issue, is more in keeping with the views
of the Israeli authorities. They too hope the coming storm turns out to
be meteorological, not metaphorical.
The wisdom lies of course with al-Quds.
PA officials and Hamas might want Arab youngsters to violently oppose
the declaration, but they clearly realize that the potential political
gains of such violence will be trivial compared to the costs in lives
and injury. Israel will easily muster the police and army units needed
to quell any popular disturbances, and it is unlikely that such violence
will compel President Trump to rescind his decision.
This understanding is the common denominator motivating the responses of the political actors standing behind the media outlets al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Risala.net, and al-Quds.
The only difference is that the PA and Hamas hope Palestinian youth
will do their bidding without risking their own bureaucratic
enterprises. But they might not get their wish. The Palestinian silent
majority is tired of sacrificing their sons on behalf of these warring
factions.
BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the Greg Rosshandler Family
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/reading-palestinian-responses-trumps-jerusalem-declaration/
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Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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