The Palestinian Authority is notorious for saying one thing in English, and the opposite in Arabic. Another similar phenomenon is often at play among the Palestinians in which the leadership says one thing publicly, and the average people, the so-called “Palestinian street,” express the very opposite in private conversation.
That’s what is happening now in regards to Israel’s plan to annex the Jordan Valley.
The Palestinian Authority is in no uncertain terms threatening an explosion of violence if Israel goes through with this “illegal” act of “occupation.”
“The Palestine Authority is absolved of all agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including ones regarding security,” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas angrily declared last month, signaling that his police would no longer keep the more violent anti-Israel elements of Palestinian society under control.
Not wanting to be seen as fully abandoning the Palestinian cause, many other Arab leaders are issuing similar warnings. (Though generally speaking, the Arab world no longer views ‘Palestine’ as a top priority. See: “Saudi Arabia Turns Against the Palestinians”)
But what do the average Palestinians themselves think?
Well, it can often be hard to get them to talk openly about such matters, as many remain fearful of reprisals should they be branded as “traitors” by the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.
However, if you can engage them in genuine and warm dialogue, many Palestinians will open up, and often what they’ve got to say will shock you.
“I want the residents of my village to be happy,” one Palestinian man told Israel Channel 13 reporter Tsvi Yehezkeli. “Today, they are subject to the Palestinian Authority, but they want to live under Netanyahu more than anything, and to obtain Israeli identity cards.”
Another Palestinian said that it is “one million times better for Israel to control the entire territory. We are ready to live under Israeli military rule as opposed to the rule of Abu Mazen [Abbas’ nom de guerre].”
A third, a local businessman, echoed what we’ve also heard from many Palestinians: “I don’t want a state, I want money. Money [or economic stability] is better than a state. This is what all Palestinians want. The Palestinian Authority has ruined us.”
Not exactly the picture being painted for you by the mainstream international media, which wants you to believe that the Palestinian Arabs are an oppressed people who just want their freedom from Israel.
Next week, Israel Today will visit some of the Palestinian villages in the proposed annexation zone to hear from those who might soon find themselves more fully under Israeli control.
Stay tuned!
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