The Palestinian Hamas terror movement recently banned Palestinians living under its control in the Gaza Strip from celebrating International Women’s Day. Hamas dismissed a decision by the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in the West Bank to give all civil servants a day off on this occasion, arguing that International Women’s Day was a “Western and foreign” event that is incompatible with Islamic traditions and teachings.

The Islamic movement also issued a warning to all public and private institutions in the Gaza Strip, including schools and universities, to refrain from marking the occasion.

Hamas’s decision drew sharp criticism from many Palestinians, especially women’s groups and human rights organizations, as well as the Palestinian Authority. The critics maintained that the ban was a sign of Hamas’s disrespect for women and their contribution to Palestinian society.

The General Union of Palestinian Workers issued a statement in which it condemned Hamas’s refusal to acknowledge and honor the role of Palestinian women. The statement said that Palestinian women have made huge sacrifices and contributed remarkably to the Palestinian labor force and the development of society.

The Hamas ban also angered many Palestinian men, who expressed outrage over the “humiliation” of Palestinian women. Fathi Tbail, a leading Palestinian journalist, commented: “I will celebrate International Women’s Day, whether you (Hamas) like it or not. All you represent is retardation!”

But not all Palestinians were protesting the latest Hamas insult against Palestinian women. Take, for instance, Linda Sarsour.

Sarsour is a US-based supporter of sharia law and the anti-Israel BDS movement who chose, instead of condemning Hamas for cancelling International Women’s Day, to spew her hatred against Israel and Zionism.

The prominent Palestinian-American feminist declared in an interview that support for feminism and Zionism are incompatible. Sarsour told The Nation:

“It just doesn’t make any sense for somebody to say, ‘Is there room for people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement?’ There can’t be in feminism. You either stand up for the rights of all women, including Palestinians, or none. There’s just no way around it.”

Sarsour seems somewhat oblivious to the suffering of her fellow Palestinian women under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. She demonstrates concern for women’s rights under one condition: when she can blame Israel.

One wonders what her position is on Hamas’s cancellation of International Women’s Day. Or about severe restrictions imposed on Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip, including denial the right to sit in a restaurant or go to the beach unaccompanied by a male relative. How about her response to Hamas’s ban on women smoking water pipes in cafes, under the pretext that it violates traditions and leads to divorce?

Just as an aside, is the feminist Sarsour aware that women living under Hamas have been banned from riding motorcycles and scooters? Is she aware that Hamas has also banned women from running in a marathon organized by the United Nations?

These are embarrassing truths that the pro-Hamas feminist does not want to hear. Why? Because Linda Sarsour’s hatred for Israel and Zionism supersedes her solidarity with her fellow Palestinian women. The rights of women who are being oppressed by Hamas are the last thing on her mind. For Sarsour and her ilk in the Palestinian-American feminist movement, the delegitimization and demonization of Israel and Jews is what matters. Sitting in the comfort of the U.S. and other Western countries, Sarsour and her colleagues are too busy inciting against Israel to remember the plight of women in most Arab countries, including those living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Perhaps it would be helpful to the cause of Palestinian women if Sarsour chose to raise the case of Palestinian lawmaker and anti-corruption campaigner Najat Abu Baker. Because of her heroic campaign and outspoken criticism against corruption in the PA leadership, Abu Baker has been stripped of her parliamentary immunity and expelled from the ruling Fatah faction by PA (and Fatah) President Mahmoud Abbas. Recently, the PA also banned Abu Baker from leaving the West Bank. She was supposed to travel to Lebanon to attend a ceremony in which she was expected to be honored as the most respected lawmaker in the Arab world.

Yet, Sarsour has not said a word to defend women like Abu Baker.

Prominent Palestinian-American feminist Linda Sarsour (left) demonstrates concern for women’s rights only when she can blame Israel. Sarsour has not said a word to defend women like anti-corruption campaigner Najat Abu Baker (right), who was stripped of her parliamentary immunity and expelled from the ruling Fatah faction by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Nor is she interested in the enormous progress that Arab women have made in Israel. While Abu Baker is being persecuted by the PA, Arab women serving in the Knesset are free to speak and work without fear.

One wonders, too, what Sarsour and her fellow feminists think about the treatment of gays living under the Hamas and PA regimes. This, at a time when an Arab citizen of Israel, Tallen Abu Hanna, won the Miss Trans Israel contest last year. Worse, in Iran, members of the gay community are being hanged in public.

In another sign of the empowerment of Arab women in Israel and their success, last year the Israeli government appointed Mariam Kabaha as National Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunities at the Ministry of Economy and Industry. Kabaha, an Israeli Arab woman, was chosen for the position from among 60 candidates.

While Sarsour advocates sharia law, the trend of Muslim Arab Israeli women circumventing Islamic sharia courts in favor of Israel’s civil courts has been gaining momentum, according to Roy Brumer, a Jewish lawyer representing some of these women. Sharia courts in Israel have jurisdiction for Muslims over personal status issues such as divorce, marriage and conversion. However, over the past several years, Brumer has noticed an uptick in the number of women seeking his services.

Sarsour might take heed: Arab women in Israel enjoy more rights and freedom than most women in Iran, Sudan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In Israel, women are free to run in elections and go to the beach or a shopping mall without being accompanied by a male relative. In Israel, Arab women are free to drive cars and serve as judges in Israeli civilian courts. In Israel, women are not forced to wear the hijab. Has Sarsour heard of Ghada Bsul, who serves as a judge with the Haifa Court for Local Affairs? Or is that not of interest to her?

Sarsour’s claim, that Zionism and feminism are incompatible, is nothing but a grimy lie. In the Zionist state of Israel, Arab women have risen to senior positions and enjoy a great deal of freedom in all walks of life. “Feminists” like Sarsour, however, wish to take women’s cause back centuries. With feminists like that, who needs enemies?

Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.

Who says that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not condemn terror attacks against civilians?

As it turns out, he and his Palestinian Authority (PA) do indeed condemn terrorism — when it is directed against anyone but an Israeli. Israeli blood, it seems, is different.

Abbas led the international outcry after the June 3 London Bridge terror attack that left seven people dead and 48 injured.

A brief statement issued by Abbas’s office read:

“The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday condemned the terror attack in the British capital of London. His Excellency (Abbas) offered his deep condolences to Britain – its queen, government and people, and to the families of the victims of the terror assault. He affirmed his permanent rejection of all forms of terrorism.”

This statement is in line with others Abbas has made recently. Just two weeks ago, Abbas, during a joint press conference with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in Bethlehem, condemned the May 23 terror attack in the British city of Manchester, the deadliest attack in the United Kingdom since July 7, 2005, in which 23 people were killed and 119 were injured, 23 critically.

Abbas described the terror attack as a “heinous crime” and said that the Palestinians were prepared to work with the U.S. as “partners in the war on terrorism in our region and the world.”

Two days later, Abbas was among the first leaders to condemn a terror attack that killed 28 Coptic Christians in central Egypt. Once again, Abbas said that he and the Palestinians stood with Egypt and its president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the war against terrorism.

This verbal charade has been going on for some time.

Last April, Abbas was quick to condemn the terrorist attack that took place on the Saint Petersburg Metro, in Russia, in which 15 people were killed and 45 injured. Abbas, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he and the Palestinians support Russia in its war against terrorism.

Abbas also ran to condemn the wave of terrorist attacks that has hit Belgium, France and Germany in the past two years. This apparent repudiation of terrorism is a startling development for Abbas. The only catch is that when it comes to Israel, Abbas takes quite the opposite line.

For the past two years, Palestinians have been waging a new type of “intifada” against Israel — one that consists of knife and car-ramming attacks, similar to the ones carried out in Britain, France and Germany. This wave of attacks, which began in September 2015, has claimed the lives of 49 people and injured more than 700. Since then, Palestinians have carried out more than 177 stabbings, 144 shootings and 58 vehicular attacks.

This wave of terrorism is the direct result of incitement by various Palestinian groups and leaders, including Abbas himself.

Days before the violence erupted, Abbas stated:

“Every drop of blood that has been spilled in Jerusalem is holy blood as long as it is for Allah. Every martyr (Shahid) will reach paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded, Allah willing. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours, and they [Jews] have no right to defile it with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to [defile it], and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem.”

A few days later, Palestinians heeded Abbas’s call by launching the newest wave of terrorist attacks against Israelis. These deadly attacks continue until this day. Abbas’s remarks served as a catalyst for the new “intifada”, one that is precisely parallel to the attacks we are witnessing on the streets of Paris, London and Berlin.

Yet Abbas, the world’s newest renouncer of terror, has chosen to refrain from rescinding his explicit call for Palestinians to butcher Jews in order to prevent them from “defiling” the Aqsa Mosque. Needless to say, Jews have neither desecrated nor caused any harm to the mosque. All they have been doing, as is permitted, is visiting the outdoor Temple Mount compound as tourists. Never have any of these Jews set foot inside the Aqsa Mosque.

But Abbas and the Palestinians have been exploiting Jewish visits to the Temple Mount to incite against Israel, thus triggering the current wave of stabbings and vehicular attacks.

Not only has Abbas failed to withdraw his deadly appeal to Palestinians to engage in terrorism, he has also refused to condemn the attacks that have claimed the lives of scores of Israelis and wounded hundreds of others.

So, here is the take-home: Abbas is against terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Except in Israel, perpetrated by his own people and prompted by him.

Adding to the hypocrisy, Abbas and his PA leadership often point an accusing finger at Israel for killing the terrorists who are carrying out attacks. Instead of condemning the perpetrators, Abbas and the Palestinians regularly accuse Israel of carrying out “extra-judicial killings” of the terrorists. In other words, Palestinian leaders save their condemnation for Israeli soldiers and policemen, for defending themselves and firing at those who come to stab them with knives and axes or try to run them over with their cars.

How would the British or French governments react if someone condemned them for killing the terrorists on the streets of Paris and London?

Has anyone in the West noticed Abbas’s double standards in dealing with terrorism against civilians?

But Abbas not only stays silent when his own people mow down Israelis: he names streets and squares after such “heroes.” Moreover, he rewards them and their families financially, with the help of American and European taxpayer money.

Perhaps it is time for Westerners to realize that there is no difference between a terrorist who sets out to kill Jews and a terrorist who kills British, French and German nationals. In fact, it has become clear that the terrorists in Europe have copied the tactics of the Palestinians in carrying out stabbings and vehicular and suicide-bombing attacks.

Abbas’s crocodile tears are intended to disguise tears of joy that terrorism is alive and well — certainly when it comes to the Israeli blood that his own people spill in the name of Allah.

Who says that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not condemn terror attacks against civilians? He is against terrorist attacks anywhere in the world — except in Israel, perpetrated by his own people and prompted by him. Abbas’s crocodile tears are intended to disguise tears of joy that terrorism is alive and well. (Image source: Muhammed Muheisen-Pool/Getty Images)

Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.

By all accounts, Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi, who hails from an influential clan in Hebron, is an extraordinarily courageous and unique Palestinian. His bravery lies not in rescuing a child from a burning house, and his singularity lies not in donating his salary to an orphanage.

Tamimi’s courage and exceptionality showed up in a different sphere: he recently spoke at a seminar organized by Jewish residents of the settlement of Efrat, in Gush Etzion (south of Jerusalem). The seminar was held under the title, “Relations between Jews and Arabs in Gush Etzion.” The event was attended by another courageous Palestinian, Khaled Abu Awwad, General Manager of the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum, a grassroots organization that promotes reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.

Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi (left) speaks at a seminar on relations between Jews and Arabs in the Gush Etzion area, on August 2, 2016.

Thanks to this courageous move, Tamimi has now been “disowned” by his clan. This is one of the most humiliating forms of punishment in tribal systems: the individual loses the support and protection of the clan and is boycotted socially — weddings and funerals become very lonely affairs. Moreover, Tamimi is being labelled as a “traitor” and a “collaborator” with Israel.

Tamimi did indeed participate in the seminar. But that is not all. He took with him several Palestinians from the town of Yatta in the Hebron area and the Jelazoun refugee camp near Ramallah.

Encounters between Jewish settlers and Palestinians are not unheard of. Thousands of Palestinians work in most of the settlements and many others maintain close relations with settlers and do business with them on a daily basis. These Palestinians could not care less about the anti-Israel boycott movement or the “anti-normalization” groups operating in the West Bank.

For them, the need to earn their families’ bread far outweighs the voices calling for boycotts and divestment. These ordinary Palestinians strive to get on with their lives without the fear of boycott activists’ threats.

Tamimi and his colleagues do not believe in boycotts and divestment. They are convinced that real peace can be achieved through dialogue between Palestinians and all Israelis — not just those who are affiliated with the left-wing. The Israeli left-wing, they contend, does not have a monopoly over peace-making.

For Tamimi, real peace begins between the people and through economic cooperation and improving the living conditions of the Palestinians. This, he explains, is more important than the talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he believes, under the current circumstances, is not a realistic option.

In his speech at the seminar, Tamimi pointed out that peace and calm do not always come from “peaceniks” and leftists.

“In our work, we search for the right-wing in Israel, the hardliners in Israeli society and the settlers to sit and talk with them,” he said. “There are many things that they need to know about Islam and the Quran. This dialogue should be the basis for any future solutions.”

Insisting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is political, and not religious, Tamimi told his Jewish audience that many Palestinian groups that claim to represent Islam are not authentic representatives of Islam. “They are using Islam as a bridge to achieve their goals, but in reality they do not represent Islam,” he stressed. Tamimi was clearly referring to Hamas and other radical Palestinian Islamist groups, although he did not mention them by name.

Tamimi disclosed that he is currently in touch with thirteen leading Islamic clerics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to address the daily humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population and bring it to the public’s attention. “The humanitarian needs of the people are at the top of our list of priorities,” he said. “We do not want bloodshed. We have needs that we are demanding with all available methods.” He believes that both Israelis and Palestinians should invest in dialogue, especially between religious leaders from both sides, to talk about shared interests. “We need to sit together and understand each other,” he added. “This will help the leaders make decisions. We want both peoples to live a dignified life.”

Tamimi’s is not a lone voice in the desert. He represents an increasing number of Palestinians who have lost confidence in their leaders’ ability to improve their living conditions and achieve peace and stability in the region. These Palestinians support the idea of “economic peace” between the two peoples — a notion that goes against the ideas of the advocates of “anti-normalization” and others in the West obviously acting against the true interests of the Palestinians by promoting boycott and divestment against Israel.

Ironically, while those hoping to destroy Israel are campaigning for boycotts and other economic harm to it, a growing number of Palestinians are marching in the opposite direction.

Tamimi is not just another ordinary Palestinian. Besides being an Islamic cleric, he also belongs to one of the largest Palestinian clans in Hebron. In these days of unrelenting incitement and indoctrination by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), it is refreshing to see and hear an Islamic cleric stand up and utter words of true peace. The only Islamic clerics we have seen in recent years are those who preach hate against Israel, Jews and “infidels.”

Yet, of course, Tamimi’s bold stance does not come without a price. Shortly after the news of the seminar and Tamimi’s remarks were broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 TV, a man who claimed to be the leader (mukhtar) of the Tamimi clan issued a statement strongly condemning the “corrupt” cleric for meeting with Jewish settlers.

The man, Hijazi Tamimi, wrote on Facebook that, as the leader of the Hebron clan, he did not authorize any of his family members to meet with settlers:

“As long as I am alive, I will not permit any member of my clan to meet with settlers, no matter what the circumstances. On behalf of myself and the Tamimi clan, we announce our decision to disown the above-mentioned [Abdullah Tamimi], condemn what was mentioned in the TV report and question his credibility. Anyone who wants to discuss political matters should go to the elected president of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas.”

What the clan leader neglected to note was that the “elected” president is now in the 11th year of his four-year term in office. He also forgot to mention that not all Palestinians agree with the policies of Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, and consider boycotts and divestment harmful to the interests of their people. Abbas’s repeated rejection of offers to return to the negotiating table, or hold a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without pre-conditions, was also not noted.

Other members of the clan joined the attack on Abdullah Tamimi and called for punishing him for meeting with settlers. “Who is this guy who claims to be a sheikh?” asked Qassem Tamimi. “This is Rabbi Abdullah. He is not one of us and he has no connection to our clan.”

Tamimi is a rare voice of sanity among Palestinian Islamic clerics, most of whom are busy spewing hate towards Israel and Jews from mosques and media outlets.

But Abdullah Tamimi’s message reflects the growing discontent with the way Palestinian leaders are handling the affairs of their people. Last week, Palestinians received yet another reminder of the malfeasance of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas governments, with the decision to suspend local elections scheduled for October 8. The decision, taken by the Palestinian High Court, came as no surprise to many Palestinians. It followed weeks of mutual accusations and tensions between the two rival parties, with each side targeting each other’s candidates by arresting them, harassing them or disqualifying their lists.

An article published here in July questioned the Palestinians’ ability to hold fair and free elections, especially in light of the ongoing tensions between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas, and internal squabbling within Fatah. The article also noted that Abbas was embarking on a gigantic gamble by authorizing the local elections.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have once again failed their people; they are not even capable of ensuring a free and fair election. Venal leadership has always been the main tragedy of the Palestinians. But it has created a vacuum that provides an opportunity for Palestinians such as Tamimi to search for other alternatives. This, of course, comes as bad news for those who hate Israel and keep hoping to destroy it with boycotts, stabbings, car-rammings and the like. Now the question is, who will triumph: Palestinians and their Jewish neighbors in the West Bank who wish to live in peace, or the anti-Palestinian, anti-Israel, “anti-normalization” activists who seek to derail a true peace at any cost?

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Palestinians fear that their communities may be facing a return to anarchy and falatan amni, or “security chaos.”

Recent incidents are yet another sign of the Palestinian Authority’s failure to enforce law and order, especially in refugee camps such as Balata (near Nablus) Qalandya (near Ramallah) and the Jenin refugee camp.

Moreover, these incidents are an indication of mounting tensions among rival camps inside Fatah and between the refugees and the Palestinians living in the big cities surrounding the camps.

These camps, which are hotbeds for gunmen and terror groups, have long been off-limits to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in these three major refugee camps in the West Bank. Although the refugee camps there located in areas controlled by the PA, the Palestinian security forces do their best to steer clear of them. Attempts by Palestinian security forces to arrest camp residents wanted for various crimes have often resulted in armed confrontations.

Disgruntled members of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction are mostly responsible for the anarchy and “security chaos.” Many of the Fatah members once belonged to Fatah’s armed wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which was officially dismantled several years ago under pressure from Israel and the international community, specifically the Americans and Europeans, the biggest funders of the Palestinian Authority.

These men regularly accuse the PA leadership of turning its back on them and ignoring their demand for jobs and money. A quick chat with young Palestinians, including Fatah members, in any refugee camp in the West Bank will reveal a driving sense of betrayal. And no, they are not afraid of speaking out against President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority in front of any stranger. In these camps, the PA seems as much the enemy as Israel. They speak of the PA as a corrupt and incompetent body that is managed by “mafia leaders.” Others see the Palestinian Authority is a pawn in the hands of Israel and the US. More importantly, many of the camp activists believe that it is only a matter of time before Palestinians launch an intifada against the PA.

Make no mistake: these individuals have no love for Israel. Not a single one is prepared to relinquish the “right of return” to Israel, even if and when a Palestinian state is established supposedly within the pre-1967 lines. And many are fully in favor of an “armed struggle” against Israel.

But hostility towards the Palestinian Authority seems to have reached unprecedented heights among refugee camp residents. The feeling is that the PA leadership has done virtually nothing to improve their living conditions and that the real money is going to big cities such as Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron.

“The Palestinian Authority is controlled by thieves who do not care about us,” complained Hassan Abu Ayyash, a young man who describes himself as a “Fatah activist” from the Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.

“They are getting hundreds of millions of dollars from the international community and distributing them among themselves and their sons. Look at all the big buildings and fancy restaurants and bars in Ramallah. Where do they get all the money to purchase expensive cars?”

The camp residents are not even afraid to vent their anger against senior representatives of the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this week, unidentified gunmen intercepted the car of the Palestinian Authority Minister for Social Welfare, Ibrahim Al Shaer, as it was making its way from Ramallah to Jerusalem. When the car reached the Qalandya refugee camp, on the Ramallah-Jerusalem highway, the gunmen stopped it and forced the driver out. The gunmen, who are believed to be members of Fatah, fled with the car. Hours later, the PA security forces managed to recover the minister’s stolen vehicle. Palestinians described the carjacking as a severe blow to the Palestinian Authority’s “prestige.”

In an incident that reflects similar sentiments, unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Palestinian Authority police station in the village of Al Yamoun in the northern West Bank. Again, the suspects are believed to be disgruntled Fatah activists. Residents of Jenin said that the shooting reflected the growing state of “security chaos” in the area and the weakness of the PA in tackling the problem. The attack was the second of its kind against the same police station in recent months.

In April of this year, a fierce gun battle erupted between Palestinian Authority security officers and members of the Jaradat clan in the refugee camp of Jenin. The clash started during an attempt to arrest a clan member. Two people were wounded.

In April of this year, a fierce gun battle erupted between Palestinian Authority security officers and members of the Jaradat clan in the refugee camp of Jenin. The clash started during an attempt to arrest a clan member. (Image source: Palestinian Press Agency)

Last month, masked gunmen from one of the refugee camps stole a Palestinian police car in broad daylight from the center of Ramallah. The stolen car was returned to the police hours later, but no one was arrested because that would have stirred more trouble for the Palestinian Authority and resulted in a violent confrontation with the camp residents.

Nablus, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, exemplifies the growing West Bank anarchy. The city is surrounded by a number of refugee camps that are effectively controlled by dozens of Fatah gangs that have long been terrorizing the city’s wealthy clans and leading figures.

But there are also instances where it seems that rival Fatah leaders hire the unruly gunmen from the refugee camps to settle scores among themselves. Earlier this month, for example, gunmen opened fire at the home of Ghassan Shaka’a, the former mayor of Nablus and a senior PLO and Fatah official. No one was hurt in the attack, which was apparently only aimed at sending Shaka’a a warning message.

Shaka’a later announced that the attack on his home was in the framework of “internal rivalries” among the top brass of the Fatah leadership. He said he believed that the attack was aimed at dissuading him from running again for mayor of Nablus. Expressing his deep frustration with the lawlessness in his city, Shaka’a said that the “security situation in the (Hamas-controlled) Gaza Strip was better than that in the West Bank.” His last remark is seen as being a direct criticism of the Palestinian Authority for failing to rein in the gunmen from the refugee camps.

According to some of Mahmoud Abbas’s top aides, the scenes of lawlessness are far from spontaneous. Rather, they say, they are being orchestrated by ousted Fatah operative Mohamed Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates. The aides claim that Dahlan has been funding many Fatah gangs in the West Bank refugee camps, as part of an effort to buy loyalty and establish bases of power for himself.

Dahlan, they argue, is eager to succeed President Abbas. Thus he has been working hard to undermine the Palestinian Authority and sow anarchy and dissent in the West Bank. He wants to show that Abbas is losing control and that only a “powerful” figure such as Dahlan would be able to restore law and order. Dahlan, for his part, has strongly denied the allegations.

The return of anarchy to the streets of West Bank cities and refugee camps is a bad omen for President Abbas and his regime. It’s also a natural result of the failure of the Palestinian Authority over the past two decades to offer the residents of the refugee camps any realistic hope for a better life.

The PA, like most Arab countries, has spent years upon years lying to the camp residents, telling them that they should remain in their misery because one day they will return to their families’ former homes inside Israel. Adding to this extraordinarily extended effort of deceit, the Palestinian Authority has marginalized the refugee camp residents, cutting them out of any process of state-building. It appears that the residents have had enough. Abbas’s talk of establishing an independent Palestinian state is hard to reconcile with the “security chaos” in the territories under his control. Hamas, of course, is cheering on the sidelines as it watches the PA-controlled territories going to hell.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

On the eve of US envoy Jason Greenblatt’s visit to Ramallah last week, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in the city, calling on Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to resign. The protesters also condemned the ongoing security cooperation between the PA and Israel.

“Listen, listen to us, Abbas; collect your dogs and leave us alone,” the Palestinian protesters chanted during what has been described as the largest anti-Abbas demonstration in Ramallah in recent years. They also called for the abrogation of the Oslo Accords with Israel, and denounced Abbas as a “coward” and an agent of the Americans.

It is not clear if Greenblatt had been aware of the large anti-Abbas demonstration, which came in protest against PA security forces’ violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Ramallah a few days earlier.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (right) meets with US envoy Jason Greenblatt (left), in Ramallah, on March 14, 2017. (Image source: NTDTV video screenshot)

At that protest, PA security officers used excessive force to disperse Palestinians who were demonstrating against the PA’s decision to prosecute four Palestinians for illegal possession of weapons. PA security forces arrested — and later released — the four suspects, although they had reportedly planned to carry out an attack against Israelis. One of the suspects, Basel Al-Araj, was killed in an armed clash with Israeli soldiers. (Al-Araj was wanted by Israel for planning an attack on Israelis. When Israeli soldiers surrounded the house where he was hiding, he opened fire from at them before he was killed.)

The killing of Al-Araj and the PA’s decision to prosecute his friends triggered the first protest that was brutally suppressed by the PA security forces. The second demonstration in Ramallah, a few days later, came in response to the excessive use of force by the PA security forces against the protesters.

The protests in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians, are yet another sign of growing discontent among Palestinians with Abbas and his autocratic regime. The Palestinians are particularly enraged over the Palestinian Authority’s security coordination with Israel, which is primarily aimed at combating terrorism and preventing Hamas from seizing control over the West Bank.

Yet this was far from a simple a protest against Abbas and his security forces. It was also a rallying cry for pursuing with further vigor the armed struggle against Israel.

“No to peace and no to all the nonsense, we want bullets and rockets,” some of the protesters chanted. Notably, these calls in favor of an armed struggle against Israel were coming from the streets of Ramallah and not the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The protests also reflect Palestinians’ rejection of the so-called peace process with Israel. In addition to the calls on Abbas to step down, the protesters demanded as well that the PA leadership cancel all agreements with Israel, first and foremost the Oslo Accords.

In other words, Palestinians are trying extremely hard to get their message across: Israel is our enemy, not our peace partner.

In a desperate bid to contain the growing resentment on the Palestinian street, Abbas ordered an inquiry into the police violence against the Ramallah protesters. In that episode, journalists and lawyers, too, were among those who were brutally beaten by Abbas’s security officers.

Still, many Palestinians voiced skepticism about Abbas’s intentions, and pointed out that previous commissions of inquiry into police violence have rarely led to punitive measures against those responsible. “The formation of a commission of inquiry into the police violence is another attempt by Abbas to contain the anger of the Palestinian street and avoid an intifada against his regime,” remarked a Palestinian journalist in Ramallah. “Abbas’s Zionist Palestinian Authority poses a threat to the Palestinian cause.”

As Abbas was meeting with the US envoy, a public opinion poll published in Ramallah showed that a majority of 64% of Palestinians would like to see their president resign. Another 61% of Palestinians expressed dissatisfaction with Abbas’s performance. The poll also found that if presidential elections were held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip today, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would receive the same percentage of votes as Abbas.

None of this — not the protests of rage and not the Palestinians’ expressions of disgust — appears to bother Abbas.

This is a president who seems utterly unconnected to reality — namely that a large number of Palestinians are disillusioned with him and see him as a puppet in the hands of Israel and the US. For now, he does not seem to care what his people think about him. But in the long run, he would never be able to deliver on any peace process with Israel without the backing of his people. Like his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, he does not want to go down in history as a “traitor” who sold out to Israel and the Jews.

Abbas, whose four-year-term term in office expired back in January 2009, is reported to have told the US envoy that a “historic” peace deal with Israel is possible. According to a statement released by the US Consulate in Jerusalem, Abbas also “committed to preventing inflammatory rhetoric and incitement (against Israel).”

So here is a Palestinian leader mouthing off about a “historic” deal with Israel, while only a few hundred meters away his people have made their message of rejection — of him and of peace — clear as a bell.

In a further irony, here is a Palestinian leader talking about preventing incitement while he and his media outlets and senior officials still spearhead a campaign to delegitimize and isolate Israel.

Just this week, Abbas decided to decorate for “bravery” senior UN official Rima Khalaf for publishing a controversial report that accuses Israel of “apartheid.” Khalaf has become a hero in the eyes of many Palestinians because of her report and subsequent resignation.

Abbas’s foreign minister, Riad Malki, has meanwhile voiced outrage over the UN secretary-general’s decision to drop the “apartheid” report (the reason Khalaf resigned). Malki said that the PA leadership has instructed all its embassies and representatives around the world to distribute the report as evidence of Israeli “crimes” against the Palestinians.

Abbas’s pledge to prevent inflammatory rhetoric against Israel seems to have missed his editors and journalists.

Take, for example, the Palestinian Authority-controlled media’s response to last week’s Jerusalem marathon. In the PA media, the sports event is depicted as part of Israel’s scheme to “Judaize” Jerusalem and change the “Arab and Islamic character” of the city.

In addition, Abbas’s media continues to portray visits by Jews to the Temple Mount as “provocative invasions” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jewish visitors are described as “settler gangs” who carry out “suspicious tours” of Islamic religious sites. It is precisely this kind of terminology that is driving many Palestinians to carry out stabbings and car-rammings against Israelis.

Abbas can make all the promises in the world to the new US envoy. Fulfillment of any of them, however, is a different story altogether.

Abbas has had multiple opportunities to reach a “historic” deal with Israel, yet he has never delivered. Quite the contrary: he has repeatedly rejected offers for holding direct talks with Israel, insisting instead on pursuing his campaign to internationalize the conflict with the hope of imposing a solution on Israel.

Abbas knows anyhow that he would never be able to win the support of a majority of Palestinians for any peace agreement he signs with Israel. No Palestinian leader is authorized to offer any concessions to Israel in return for peace.

The “cordial” and “positive” meeting with the new US envoy will change nothing — certainly not Abbas’s stripes.

Abbas’s modus operandi is to flee from his problems at home by presenting himself to the international community as a leader who seeks peace. With every lick of the flames that threaten to engulf his palace of deception, the 82-year-old Abbas runs to seek sympathy among world leaders and international public opinion. Abbas’s promises of peace are as empty as the political sway he parades to his Western donors.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.