Can Abbas bring hope to desperate young Palestinians?
Demonstrating against the Israeli occupation, young Palestinians have also been pointing a finger at President Mahmoud Abbas, who has finally addressed them and their problems in his latest speeches.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is under pressure. Even louder than polls and close advisers, the voices from the Palestinian street have broken through the walls of the Muqata and made him realize that the winds of change blowing outside could quickly turn into a deadly storm. It started with the knifing intifada, the scale and character of which not even the most seasoned Fatah officials and the most knowledgeable activists on the ground had foreseen. Now they, too, feel the wind lashing at their windows.
There’s nothing new about the internal Palestinian criticism of the Fatah movement and the PA. The immense gap between the promises for change and the reality on the ground has plagued Palestinian existence since the Oslo Accord days. However, what was once whispered with fear and trepidation is now expressed openly.
Until a few months ago, the rage was directed exclusively at Israel. All of a sudden different voices are being heard: “Abbas, go home” or “Down with the PA.” It seems that people have had enough. The psychological barriers have come down in a process reminiscent of the demonstrations in Egypt at the start of the revolution in 2011. Maybe the Palestinians have reached a breaking point, feeling they have nothing more to lose. And maybe the lone-wolf attacks that broke out in October 2015 have given many people the courage to openly set out against the leadership that has failed them and refuses to be held accountable.
Khalil Shikaki, the head of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, whose polls are considered the barometer of the mindset in the territories, published on Dec. 14 a comprehensive study that suggests that two-thirds of the Palestinian population want to see Abbas resign. The same portion supports the uprising. Shikaki estimates that the results of his poll, which was conducted at the beginning of December over 1,270 respondents from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, reflect the frustration and despair of the young generation. Based on the poll, he speculates that if elections in the PA were held today, Ismail Haniyeh — Hamas’ candidate — would beat Abbas by a landslide.
