Why Palestinians Protest
The PA Leadership Is Not the Only Problem
Khaled ElgindyKHALED ELGINDY is a Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He served as an adviser to the Palestinian Authority on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004–9.
Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad pray in Ramallah last month. (Mohamad Torokman / Courtesy Reuters)
With anti-American unrest spreading through the Muslim world and an ongoing crisis unfolding in Syria, one might be forgiven for missing the wave of Palestinian protests that swept through the Israeli-occupied West Bank this month. The uprising virtually paralyzed life in Palestinian cities, with scenes reminiscent of the first intifada: burning tires, shuttered shops, and general strikes punctuated by occasional clashes between rock-throwing Palestinian youths and uniformed security forces. What began as a relatively limited display of anger over soaring prices and unpaid salaries soon became, as the Associated Press put it, “the largest show of popular discontent with the Palestinian Authority [PA] in its 18-year existence.” The intensity