Amira Hass, the Israeli Ha'aretz reporter who lives in the West Bank and

has a deep understanding of the mass psychology of Palestinian society,

punctures a hole in Israeli propaganda and the illusions of many American liberals
and conservatives who refuse to understand the Palestinian people.
Most Palestinians Restrain Themselves Despite Israel's Plunder by Amira Hass in
Ha'aretz Jan.22,2015

Palestinian women protest in Gaza City, Jan. 2, 2014. Photo by AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are
deceiving the Israeli public, as usual. There is no need for incitement by Palestinian
Authority officials or Israeli-Arab public figures to make a young Palestinian
man stab a dozen or so people in a frenzy.
There is no need for outside elements to encourage a young Palestinian man to carry
out a revenge campaign at the risk of being killed or deprived of his freedom for
many years. Whatever the life circumstances of Hamza Mohammed Hasan Matrouk,
the anger, loathing and desire for revenge seething within him are all his.
Nor is there a need for a particular atmosphere. The atmosphere was there all
the time, from the moment Matrouk was born in the Tul Karm refugee camp, and even
before. Its creators: the Israel Defense Forces, the Civil Administration, the Shin
Bet security service, the Defense Ministry, the settlements and their inhabitants,
the IDFs watchtowers, the barbed-wire fences.
Atmosphere is a misleading word. This is reality, a reality that Israeli Jews refuse
to acknowledge even though its of their own making. After all, in democratic
elections they voted the policy-makers in, and if they had wanted, they could have

learned about the lives of non-Jews under the Israeli regime.

If there is incitement, this is its source: the supremacy of a nation convinced it has
the right to interfere in and sabotage the life of the inferior Palestinian nation its
future, past, economy, money, assets and family and social relationships.
Attacks by individuals, acting on their own initiative and targeting Israeli civilians
illustrate the impotence and ineffectiveness of the Palestinian political
establishment. Contrary to Liebermans groundless claims, these attacks are
perpetrated by people who do not listen to Mahmoud Abbas. They are perpetrated by
people who do not pin their hopes on the Palestinian presidents path of diplomacy
after Israel blocked the negotiations route.
These people do not listen to Abbas clear call to adhere to nonviolent resistance to
the occupation. The attacks by individuals point to the absence of a Palestinian
strategy, the confusing messages of the various organizations, the exhausting
rivalries among them, and their ossification.
The amazing thing for which Israelis should give thanks is that the overwhelming
majority of Palestinians do not harbor the intention of harming every Israeli they
come across. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians constantly restrain
themselves so as not to explode with wrath at the colossal arrogance and lord-of-themanor attitude of Israelis they face daily. The great majority of Palestinians keep
themselves from avenging the plunder that has accompanied Israeli rule since its
inception and the long list of Palestinians killed.
Israelis owe thanks to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and the
Palestinian decision to join the International Criminal Court. Both initiatives channel
the wrath and loathing common to all Palestinians into civil and legal action
nonviolent action, in striking contrast to the daily violence of the Israeli regime.
Israelis also owe thanks to the activists who every week hold demonstrations in West
Bank villages, and who, in contrast to Matrouk, do not target Israeli bus passengers.
The targets of their marches, and sometimes of their stones, are the Israelis who
are armed to the teeth and do not hesitate to shoot and kill civilians.
Israelis should pray for the success of these unarmed paths of resistance.
Instead of revenge, these paths develop political thinking and action. They are a
recommendation to Israelis to open their eyes before its too late.