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Pushing Palestinians back to armed struggle

Israeli and American Jews would be well-advised to rethink where Trump and Netanyahu are taking them — and remember that we Palestinians are going nowhere

Sam Bahour
6 min readAug 19, 2020
A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest near Ramallah, on August 8, 2020. Credit: Mohamad Torokman / Reuters

The only thing standing between Israel and the Palestinians reverting to using armed struggle to advance their goals is the current Palestinian leadership. This is the same Mahmoud Abbas-led leadership that U.S. President Donald Trump and successive Israeli governments have demonized, economically suffocated, and politically battered. If the U.S. and Israel do not make an about-face soon, Palestinians will care less who blames them when the bullets and missiles start flying in both directions.

While this perfect storm is brewing, the recent Israel-United Arab Emirates announcement of plans to normalize relations is a mere red herring. The announcement has been received by two extremes. On the one side, driven by Israel and the U.S., you have delusional people who have convinced themselves that another “breakthrough” has been made toward Israel gaining broader acceptance in the region. On the other side, where Palestinians lead the pack, this announcement is yet another blow to the struggle for freedom and independence from Israeli military occupation. Put in context, this entire diplomatic…

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Sam Bahour
Sam Bahour

Written by Sam Bahour

Writer, businessperson, activist.

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