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West Bank Grows Calmer as Pocketbook Issues Take Priority over Protests

(New York Times) Isabel Kershner - The change in atmosphere in the West Bank is tangible, with tension and violence subsumed by relative calm and consumerism. Ghassan Khatib, a political scientist at Birzeit University, says the old Palestinian political elite's vision of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel seems unrealistic to the new generation. "They have no alternative for now, so most of them are staying away from politics. Because there are no collective, clear national aspirations, they pay attention to their individual, personal prospects, like jobs and improving their life conditions." Nathan Thrall, who leads the International Crisis Group's Israeli-Palestinian project, notes that increasingly, "West Bankers are aspiring to middle-class life with mortgages and car payments." Muhammad Abu Latifa, who spent seven years in jail for stabbing an Israeli civilian, noted, "People have started talking more about their economic situation than resistance." He said many feel like "they have to confront the Palestinian Authority before the Israelis."
2019-07-09 00:00:00
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