Ramallah

Celebratory gunfire rang out over Ramallah’s Yasser Arafat Square on Thursday, November 29, 2012,  and more than a thousand residents and Palestinian Authority security forces danced and cheered as the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to admit Palestine as a non-member observer state.

The well-choreographed euphoria among a sea of waving Palestinian flags was the culmination of a day of officially organized celebrations. Students and government workers were given the day off and encouraged to take to the streets across the West Bank.

All political factions were reportedly celebrating in the streets of Gaza City after Gaza’s Hamas government endorsed the move by rival Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to upgrade the Palestinians’ international status.

Hamas opposed last year’s statehood bid at the UN, but this month’s eight-day conflict between Israel and Hamas has contributed to a shift in Palestinian politics.

During the conflict, which killed more than 160 Palestinians in Gaza and five Israelis, Hamas demonstrated in the streets of Ramallah for the first time since 2008.

With Hamas widely perceived as having repelled an Israeli attack, support for the group has been growing. And amid skepticism of the PA’s approach to negotiations, which has few tangible results, Abbas has been focusing on national reconciliation.

Support for the UN bid from all Palestinian political factions is seen locally as the first step to reconciling the split between Hamas and Fatah, which lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007.

“The (latest) war on Gaza showed all the factions need to provide a united platform, as no faction can stand alone — whether it is armed resistance or diplomacy,” said PA spokeswoman Nour Odeh. “This bid translates into diplomatic action.”

Away from the blasting Palestinian national ballads and booming speeches, Thursday’s hype was taken with a strong dose of skepticism.

“The (Palestinian) Authority needs to make the people say ‘wow,’ like Hamas did in Gaza,” says Hussain Zahouri, a young graphic designer playing backgammon in a popular Ramallah coffee shop. The celebrations, he said, are “all political propaganda for the PA. They are creating a show.”

While many Palestinians share his cynical outlook on their leadership, the UN bid is widely supported.

“I am not a fan of Abbas but I support this move,” says Nasser Hourani, a middle-aged advertising company owner sitting across the backgammon board from Zahouri.

Both agree that the recognition -- which gives Palestine the same UN status as the Vatican -- will give Palestinians more tools to pressure Israel with, especially access to the International Criminal Court.

[Courtesy: Toronto Star]

November 30, 2012