The Authority makes a lot of threats towards the application of sovereignty. However, in many cases the street level thinks differently – and some would rather want to get rid of its rule.
“It is better than a million times for Israel to be responsible for the whole area”
When the question of what the Palestinians think is, there is a gap between the will of the people and the statements made by its leaders. It could be seen for two decades – during Arafat, what he also wanted the people to want, but for the current PA chairman, Abu Mazen, is something else. He says one thing and the people want something else and are not afraid to say it.
When the Palestinian Authority wanted to burn the area, citizens wanted work permits in Israel, and when the United States moved the embassy to Jerusalem, the Palestinians promised a wave of violence and the public chose not to take to the streets.
One of the Palestinians who wrote News 13 met with him said: “I am from the village of Jeba. I want the villagers to be happy. They are subject to the authority today and they want Netanyahu and no one else, they want an Israeli identity card.” The realization that there is an opportunity to get another life out of the gut brings out talk they once heard only inside the houses.
According to another resident of the Occupied Territories, “It is better than a million times for Israel to be responsible for the entire territory. We are prepared to be under Israeli military shoes and not under Abu Mazen’s head.”
A meeting with a Palestinian businessman explained the will of the people from another angle: “I do not want a state – I want money. Money is better than a state. All the Palestinian people want it. The authority has looted us and destroyed us.”
Again, this gaping chasm between the PA and its leaders and the people who, after 25 years, understand that Palestinian sovereignty has not really improved their lives. The dream on the way to the country is also stuck in the middle. The question is what will be heard in a month, the voice of the PA leaders or the voice of the people who totally think otherwise?
Source: Zvi Yehezkeli (9 June 2020). In the Eyes of the Palestinians. Channel 13 News. https://13news.co.il/item/news/politics/state-policy/in-the-eyes-of-the-palestinians-1075194/. Accessed 11 June 2020. Translated.
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