They were only a handful of kids, a dozen at most, engaged in a pathetic parody of the heyday of the Intifada. Armed with slingshots, they clashed with Israeli soldiers on Tuesday afternoon at the Beit-El military barrage, outside Ramallah. Stone jets against tear gas canisters, a classic.
"We are fighting against the Trump plan," said fifteen-year-old Abdelnasser. We will never let it pass and we will drive the Israeli occupier out of our house. Even if you have to die a martyr ”. The riot was quickly dispersed, under the indifferent eye of Palestinian motorists waiting to cross the roadblock. "Their fight is ridiculous," smiles a Ramallah shopkeeper driving a sedan. We have never succeeded in folding Israel and the Americans. Their small stones will not change anything. "
Barely two hundred people at the demonstration
In central Ramallah, President Abbas had called a large demonstration to protest the unilateral initiative of Donald Trump. Barely two hundred people answered the call. “We are divided between Hamas and Fatah. Our government is failing to carry out our national project. And there is a lot of corruption. This is why no one comes to our demonstrations any more, "laments Raya, an activist from Fatah, the ruling party.
Sporadic riots also broke out in the refugee neighborhoods of Bethlehem and Nablus, as well as in the Jordan Valley that the Israelis want to annex. About 40 Palestinians were injured. But overall, the popular reaction remains very timid. "People don't say it openly, but the promise of a $ 50 billion aid plan for Palestine makes many think about it," said ex-aid worker Khaled.
Only political representatives give voice against a plan largely favorable to the Israelis. "Trump, Jerusalem is not for sale. Our rights are not for sale. Your conspiracy will not go away, "said Mahmoud Abbas, who has contacted his counterpart and rival from Gaza, Ismail Haniye, to organize a united front. An initiative supported by the base. "We need to regain our unity," said Bassem, an accounting student at Bir Zeit University and a supporter of Hamas. Between us, between ordinary citizens, we do not feel any tension, we belong to the same people. We must overcome our divisions to resume the armed struggle. "
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Divided and weakened, few Palestinians want open conflict with Israel. Especially since they find themselves more isolated than ever. The Sunni countries of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, welcomed the American initiative. "Everyone is thinking about Iran now, and no one cares about us anymore," said Ahmed, a taxi from East Jerusalem, bitterly. And now America has clearly chosen sides.