RAMALLAH – A World Bank report released Wednesday urged international donors to react quickly to a deep fiscal crisis in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authorities have been under significant pressure this month due to a sudden eruption of continuous protests as thousands took to the streets in a cry of despair over increasing living expenses. This led to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calling it the beginning of a "Palestinian Spring." But according to critics, motives ran deeper than just prices on fuel and bread revealing an internal political power struggle within a Palestinian government pressured by an ever clearer recognition that it is not getting closer to statehood.
Protesters in the streets called for the end of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and not the Israeli occupation, making the protests unprecedented. This distinct targeting of Fayyad made Sam Bahour, a US-born Palestinian businessman, with whom Al-Monitor met in Ramallah, question the participants and motives behind the protests.
