At the same time as the war against Gaza intensifies, it is becoming increasingly tense in the West Bank with clashes, road blockades and closed shops.
The Palestinians believe that the outside world has turned its back on all the abuses Palestine has endured for many years.
– Everyone is against us. Nobody is on our side, says Mohammed, who works as an electrician in Ramallah.
In Ramallah in the West Bank, emotions shift between anger, worry and despair after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel. All Palestinians will pay a heavy price, whether they support the attack or not.
Mohammed, who usually works as an electrician, no longer has a job now that the roads are closed.
– I have no source of income, prices are rising and everything is becoming very expensive. I don’t understand what the end of this will be. No one gives a damn about us. Everyone is against us. No one is on our side.
“Collective punishment”
Ahmad Majdalany sits on the party board of the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. He does not believe that even Hamas themselves realized the extent of the attack.
– Personally, I believe that when Hamas planned this operation, it did not foresee the scale and the unexpected course of events that unfolded. Which caused the situation to degenerate.
Majdalany believes that the attack, in which hundreds of Israeli civilians died, was a reaction to many years of occupation of Gaza and violence in the West Bank. But he condemns that civilians must now pay the price in Gaza.
– Palestinians should not suffer as a result of Hamas’ presence in Gaza. What is happening now is collective punishment and a clear violation of international law.
Stopping aid
On Tuesday, the government announced that Sweden will pause aid to Palestine after the Hamas attack. Countries such as Germany, Austria and Denmark have also announced that they are stopping aid. The Palestinian people already know that the consequences will be long.
– These are moves that will impose more restrictions on us. But we cannot condemn it because it is a backlash and not an act, says Lana, who is a law student.
– No matter how much I try to talk about the situation, I cannot explain the pain that we Palestinians feel, says student Rahshia.
Ahmad Majdalany believes that the decision to withdraw the aid, in practice, means punishing the people.
– Sweden’s decision is a punishment for the Palestinian people rather than a punishment for Hamas. The majority of Sweden’s aid goes to civil society organizations in order not to support the Palestinian Authority.