‘Arab Spring will spread to Palestinian territories’
“It is certain the current - or next - wave of the Arab Spring will arrive sooner or later to Palestine.”
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses Arab journalists in Ramallah on July 3(photo credit: MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/REUTERS)
Prominent Palestinian columnist and political analyst Hani al-Masri said on Tuesday that he believes that the current wave of anti-corruption protests sweeping Lebanon and some Arab countries will spread to the Palestinian territories.In an article titled “Will the wave of popular outrage reach Palestine?”, Masri, a former senior official with the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information, said “it is certain the current – or next – wave of the Arab Spring will arrive sooner or later to Palestine.”The Arab Spring is the term used to describe the anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that erupted in the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 and 2011.“The ruling [Palestinian] political elite is mostly corrupt and tyrannical,” Masri wrote. “With the exception of a few, the [Palestinian] elite is corrupt or incompetent – or both. They take their share of the cake of power, the private sector and civil society organizations, while putting the blame on others and complaining of lack of aid coming from the outside. All this underscores the need for change before it’s too late.”Masri pointed out that Palestinians had joined the Arab Spring by launching protests against the PA and Hamas. The protests, however, were swiftly squashed by the PA and Hamas security forces.He also noted that Palestinians have in recent years proven that they are capable of launching protests, such as the demonstrations in the West Bank against the PA’s social security law and the widespread protests against economic hardship in the Gaza Strip earlier this year.“Those who believe that Palestine, its leadership and its president are immune from the extension of the Arab Spring because they are under [Israeli] occupation are mistaken,” Masri cautioned.The “Israeli occupation,” he wrote, “does not provide a guarantee that Palestine won’t face popular uprisings. The general crisis the Palestinian cause is suffering from now, and the disaster we are experiencing as the division [between the West Bank and Gaza Strip] continues and deepens, justify a revolution against the ruling elites.”Palestinians refer to the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which began in 2007, as inkesam (division). Then, Hamas violently took control of the Gaza Strip after toppling the PA.The Palestinian political analyst warned that if Palestinian leaders don’t implement reforms and allow public participation in the decision-making process, change will come “through a revolution and public outrage.”
