Even Rushad Square in central Hebron has in recent days become a hotbed of protest against the Palestinian Authority.
The residents of the city and its surroundings decided that it was no longer possible to remain silent about the cost of living, and took to the streets.
In the heart of the bustling central square, a protest tent was set up, filled with hundreds of protesters shouting about the rising prices of consumer goods.
They read slogans against the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Abu Mazen, and came out against public corruption.
Public anger is also directed at the Palestinian prime minister, Muhammad Eshtiya, on the grounds of "mismanagement of the budget and poor functioning of government ministries", in the face of the deepening economic crisis in the territories.
Pressure that will lead to an explosion
"We are not asking for senior jobs. We want to eat and drink, and not collect alms and steal for food. We are on strike and sleeping here. We want a government that will do us justice. Our right to live like Mahmoud Abbas' sons. Pressure gives rise to an explosion. "Tomorrow morning it will explode in her face and there will be a civil uprising," said one of the protest activists, who has already been given the familiar name "Bidna Naish" (want to live) in some places, similar to a protest that broke out in the Gaza Strip a few years ago.
Abu Mazen.
Concerns from the opposition, Photo: IP
Protest in Hebron crosses groups and sectors.
It was attended by truck drivers, who were angry about the rise in fuel prices, alongside traders whose businesses were hurt.
The teachers were also represented in the protest, against the background of the strike they launched and the ongoing conflict with the government in Ramallah demanding an increase in their wages.
Alongside the professional sectors, activists from Hezb a-Tahrir and the Popular Front, which is in opposition to the regime of Mahmoud Abbas, were also seen in the demonstrations.
A sign of a protester in protest.
"Bidna Naish", Photo: Reuters
Sword around neck
"We demand that the Palestinian government intervene urgently to stop the cost of living and support basic consumer goods. We must get rid of the Paris Agreements (the economic annex of the Oslo Accords) with the Israeli side, which are a sword on the Palestinian people," said Amjad Alatrash, one of the protest organizers. , Who has meanwhile been arrested by the Palestinian security forces, and is not the only one.
In Ramallah, it is suspected that this is not a spontaneous wave of protests, but a deliberate hand of elements who oppose the Palestinian Authority and motivate the protest, which is a threat to Abu Mazen's rule.
Hamas may be the immediate suspect, but there are other opposition figures looking for ways to weaken the PA and take advantage of the economic crisis to overthrow Abu Mazen.
The Authority opted for a zero-tolerance policy.
The security forces launched an operation to arrest key protesters, along with preventive measures that include, among other things, increased deployment of forces around Ibn Rushd Square in Hebron and the placement of checkpoints, to stop the spread of demonstrations to other Judea and Samaria.
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