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How Do Palestinians View the U.S. "Campus Intifada?"

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Khaled Abu Toameh - Representatives of the PA and Hamas, as well as their media, have reported extensively on the protests on U.S. campuses, expressing hope that they will force the U.S. administration to adopt a tougher policy against Israel. They see the protests as aimed at eliminating Israel and undermining the United States. PA leaders are pleased with the anti-Israel protests at American universities but are unwilling to tolerate similar demonstrations at their own universities, fearing that they could be used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to create instability and insecurity. In recent weeks, PA security officers have been removing Hamas flags from electricity poles in villages and towns in the West Bank. PA security forces have also foiled attempts by some students to set up encampments at Palestinian campuses similar to those at U.S. campuses. Hamas, which has a long record of targeting political opponents, college students, journalists, and human rights activists, was the first Palestinian party to condemn the U.S. authorities for their actions against anti-Israel protesters, some of whom have publicly declared their support for the Iran-backed terrorist group. At the same time, Palestinian columnists have lamented the lack of comparable demonstrations at Arab and Palestinian educational institutions. Palestinian political analyst Rima Kattaneh Nazzal wrote: "Where are Arab universities in this uprising? Where is the Palestinian academic community, especially the student blocs and university professors? Why do they remain silent?" The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center.
2024-05-07 00:00:00
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