The unfathomable depths of Palestinian despair

Away from Gaza, things are getting worse in the West Bank. I’ve received many messages from Palestinian friends raging at what is going on there.

To get an idea of the despair of West Bank Palestinians, remember the suicidal attacks on the streets of Jerusalem a decade or so ago. Usually what happened was an ordinary Palestinian would approach a Jew, pull out a knife and stab him, realising they would be instantly killed by the other people nearby. Obviously I condemn these acts, though it’s worth noting that they involved no message, no shouting of ‘Free Palestine!’ There was no large organisation behind them, no big political project, just pure despair.

I was at that time in Jerusalem and my Jewish friends warned me about the danger, advising me that, if I saw it coming, I should shout: ‘I am not a Jew!’ I remember being deeply ashamed at the suggestion, knowing well that I wasn’t sure what I’d really do in such a situation. Today, in the face of settler aggression, despair among Palestinians in the West Bank is only getting worse.

Our duty in the West is to try to understand the hidden background of the ongoing shocking events: what strategies lie behind acts that appear suicidal? Analysing the context of Hamas’s actions does not imply excuse or justification – any more than analyses of how the Nazis took power justifies Adolf Hitler. Hamas exploits the Palestinians’ plight as Hitler exploited that of ordinary Germans after the first world war. The goal of the Hamas attack on 7 October wasn’t only to kill Jews, but to prevent any chances for peace in the foreseeable future – it was a war started with the aim of eternalising war itself.