Concern in Ramallah: Palestinian sources expressed concern over demonstrations in support of Hamas that broke out in many locations throughout Judea and Samaria over the weekend. However, the Palestinian Authority's security forces did not prevent the marches and allowed them to take place as usual, without any special effort to suppress them and forcibly disperse the participants, as has occurred in previous protests.
On Friday, thousands of Palestinian residents responded to Hamas' call to take to the streets as part of "Friday - the Al-Aqsa flood." Many of them carried the organization's green flag and clearly sided with the terrorist organization, which carried out a mass slaughter in southern Israel exactly a week ago. In Hebron, considered an Islamist stronghold, many supporters of Hamas and Hizb ut-Tahrir (the "Liberation Party" – a pan-Islamist organization that advocates the revival of the Islamic Caliphate) marched. They passed through the streets without fear and shouted praise for the terrorist organizations. Other demonstration sites were in Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqiliya.
Throwing an IED at the fence from Ramallah at Beit El, last week
But the truly disturbing demonstration took place in the center of Ramallah, not far from Mahmoud Abbas' office. There was a large procession that left no room for doubt as to who the demonstrators supported. "Listen, Abu Mazen, we want Hamas," "The people want Kataib al-Qassam," these are just some of the slogans chanted by the participants while praising the military wing of the terrorist organization and the attack it launched against Israel.
There were parents and small children there. Boys, women and families. This was not only an expression of solidarity with the residents of Gaza, who are harmed by IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip, but also clear and open support for Hamas and its military wing, which are behind the brutal terrorist attack in the communities.
Gaza City after IDF strikes, photo: AP
Palestinian sources said that along with Hamas members, ordinary residents also joined these marches to protest the policies of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership. They added that various elements were trying to take advantage of the war in Gaza and use the protest demonstrations in the West Bank to undermine the Palestinian Authority and bring about its collapse. According to them, there is concern that Hamas and other bodies are trying to initiate an intifada against Mahmoud Abbas and the PA, under cover of the security escalation. "The war in Gaza could hasten the weakening and dismantling of the PA."
Unrest intensifies
At the same time, the wave of arrests carried out by the Israeli security forces against Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria in recent days has increased the unrest against the Palestinian Authority. One of the detainees is a Hamas member, Aziz Dweik, former chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament), and Adnan Asfour, a prominent figure in Hamas' political leadership in Nablus.
According to the Basic Law of the Palestinian Authority, the Speaker of Parliament is supposed to replace the Speaker of the Palestinian Authority in the event of incapacitation, for 90 days, until elections are held. In 2018, Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the Legislative Council as part of his struggle against Hamas, which won the 2006 elections and won an overwhelming majority of seats on the council.
The status of the PA is already undermined. Even before the war, opinion polls showed that a majority of the Palestinian public wanted Mahmoud Abbas to resign, and that there was support on the street for Hamas and the armed networks.
In recent months, the Palestinian security forces have actually begun to show the first signs of fighting Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives. Arrests and raids were made on the homes of suspects and wanted persons, some of whom were also involved in terrorism against Israel. However, since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the PA's apparatuses have refrained from carrying out such operations for fear that it would be interpreted as assisting Israel in its effort to destroy Hamas.
"They will take advantage of the war"
The war is taking place while Abbas is in Jordan, where he meets with King Abdullah and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. For the time being, he himself is afraid to condemn the Hamas attack unequivocally, and in a statement he said he opposed "harming civilians on both sides." This was apparently intended, among other things, to placate the Americans and emphasize the difference between it and Hamas. On the Palestinian street, however, this is perceived as groveling: "Instead of announcing drastic measures and severing ties with Israel, he stands with it and the United States and wants to appease them."
Palestinian sources say that the steps Israel has recently taken to strengthen the PA are beginning to collapse. The PA now faces a broad public that supports Hamas rather than it. "You can't be at war with Gaza and at the same time talk about strengthening the PA because the war itself could lead to chaos in the West Bank and growing unrest against the PA," they explain. "The unrest does not necessarily come from Hamas supporters, but from disappointed Fatah and Abu Mazen." It is reasonable to assume that other elements will emerge that will try to take advantage of the war and see it as an opportunity to topple Mahmoud Abbas' regime as well.
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