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'There is no intifada,' say Ramallah residents

In a visit to Ramallah, Israel Pulse contributor Shlomi Eldar heard from residents who expressed a deep weariness with Hamas and other "inciters" to violence.
Israeli policemen confiscate Hamas flags during clashes with Palestinians near the Jewish settlement of Bet El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah October 8, 2015. Four people, including an Israeli soldier, were stabbed and wounded near a military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday, police and ambulance sources said, as a rash of such Palestinian attacks spread to Israel's commercial capital. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTS3LE4

RAMALLAH, West Bank — My first visit to the big Palestinian city since the start of the current wave of terror ended with an optimistic smile.

On the way home, my escorts thought the fastest way out of the city and through the jammed Qalandia checkpoint would be to catch a ride at the closest point to the Israeli security check. “This is Shlomi and he’s from Israel, could you take him in your car?” my escort asked a random Palestinian woman. Her teenage son sat beside her. To my surprise, her response was “Ahlan wa sahlan” — “Welcome.” Here’s a thought experiment: How would an Israeli woman respond if I asked her, “This is Mohammad from Ramallah, could you take him in your car?”

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