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West Bank Apathy amid Gaza Chaos
(Times of Israel) Khaled Abu Toameh - For the Palestinians in the West Bank, Friday was a day for weddings, family gatherings, and, for some, dining at fancy restaurants in Ramallah and Nablus. Gone are the days when the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza in clashes with the IDF would prompt Palestinians in the West Bank to declare a general strike or take to the streets. Gone, too, for that matter, are the days when the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank would spark protests and a general strike in Gaza. The vast majority of Palestinians in the West Bank have never been to Gaza. For them, Gaza is not much different than Syria, Lebanon, or Iraq. Watching the news coming from Gaza is no longer all that different than watching what happens in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere. The PA's ongoing security crackdown on Hamas and Islamic Jihad figures in the West Bank, which has resulted in the arrest of more than 200 in the past four weeks, is seen by some Palestinians as a reason behind the relative calm in areas under the control of PA security forces. Apart from the West Bank and Gaza being physically divided, Palestinians now appear to be divided into two people.