After Haniyeh’s Death, Hamas Gets a Show of Support in the West Bank

[Pelican Press 0]

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After Haniyeh’s ******, ****** Gets a Show of Support in the West Bank

On the day that ******’s political leader was assassinated in Iran, small groups of Palestinians in a number of West Bank cities turned out to protest, some chanting pro-****** slogans and waving the armed group’s green flag.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the ************ Authority, which administers parts of the ********-occupied West Bank, condemned the July 31 ******** of the leader, Ismail Haniyeh. The ************ Authority, a political adversary of ******, ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff and called for a day of strikes and business closures, while a wake for Mr. Haniyeh drew political leaders from across the West Bank.

This outpouring of sympathy was notable because unlike Gaza, which ****** has controlled for most of the past two decades, the West Bank and the ************ Authority are dominated by ******’s main rival, the more moderate ****** faction. And the ************ Authority generally has shown little tolerance for such open shows of support for armed groups in the past, at times using force to break them up.

In the 10 months since the Oct. 7 ******-led ******* on *******, the ************ Authority has been losing support to factions like ****** that favor armed struggle and are actively fighting *******, according to

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by the ************ Center for Policy and Survey Research. At the same time, deadly ******** raids and attacks by ******* settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank have escalated.

******** officials say those raids are aimed at preventing a second front from opening up in the West Bank while the war in Gaza is ongoing. ******* also accuses some of the armed groups in the West Bank of plotting attacks against it.

“The P.A. is reading the room right now,” said Tahani Mustafa, a senior Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group. “If they were to clamp down on ****** supporters, it would be absolutely disastrous,” she added.

“The P.A. recognizes that it is deeply unpopular, which has been evidenced by opinion poll after opinion poll, especially since the 7th of October,” Ms. Mustafa said, adding that repressing shows of support for ****** during a ******* of mourning for a leader who is arguably more popular than Mr. Abbas “would be political ********.”

The hands-off approach to the demonstrations last week signaled a political balancing act by the ************ Authority, which has suffered from low approval ratings and a crisis of legitimacy while ****** — designated as a ********** group by the ******* States and ******* — has gained supporters.

Mr. Haniyeh was assassinated last week in the guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran, where he was visiting to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian president. Iranian officials and Iran-backed ****** blamed *******, an assessment also reached by several U.S. officials. ******* has not publicly taken responsibility.

“Assassinating ************ political leaders is something the ************ Authority is going to speak out about,” said Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which represents Palestinians internationally and is also dominated by ******.

Tolerating expressions of sympathy for ****** “is a way of allowing people to express sentiment and let out anger,” she added. “But also, I genuinely think this is something that saddens them. It is part of *******’s history of assassinating our leaders.”

The political chasm between ****** and the ************ Authority has divided Palestinians for nearly two decades as each has tried to position itself as the legitimate leader. In 2006, ****** lost a legislative election to ******. The next year, ****** fighters routed ****** security forces from the Gaza Strip and forcibly seized control of the territory.

Over the years since then, multiple efforts to reconcile the rival factions have *******.

But last month, in an unusual show of unity, ****** and ****** signed a ****** statement in Beijing. And though it is clear that the prolonged Gaza war and questions over who will govern postwar Gaza have made ************ unity even more urgent, there are few other signs that the factions are actually bridging their differences.

The ****** statement, which was also signed by other smaller ************ factions, supports the formation of a temporary government for Gaza and the West Bank, and said the new government should begin working on uniting ************ institutions in both territories, reconstructing Gaza and preparing for national elections.

The Biden administration has said repeatedly that a revamped ************ Authority should play a role in postwar Gaza.

But even those Palestinians who saw the development in Beijing with a measure of hope have low expectations, as previous attempts to broker unity have also resulted in ****** statements and agreements without any lasting progress.

Some Palestinians have long been critical of the ************ Authority and its security forces, which have quietly helped ******** intelligence agencies target Palestinians accused by ******* of militant activity, including ****** members.

The critics argue that these institutions have become little more than subcontractors for an occupying power, exerting authoritarian control and, at times, violently cracking down on dissent.

Ms. Mustafa said the somber mood among many Palestinians in the West Bank on the day Mr. Haniyeh was ******* was evidence of the growing support for ******.

In a video of one protest in the West Bank city of Jenin on the night of July 31, one ************ man yelled, “We from the land of Jenin affirm that we are all ******,” as he led dozens of people walking through the streets.

“In terms of ******’ popularity, yes they are the de facto leaders of Palestinians, whether we like it or not,” Ms. Mustafa said. “They are the only ones fighting for Palestinians in the face of no international protections.”

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#Haniyehs #****** #****** #Show #Support #West #Bank

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