Hero turns villain

By Khaled Amayreh

Some of the angriest protests took place in Nablus, the largest West Bank town, where thousands of people marched through a thoroughfare following Friday's noon prayers. The protesters shouted, "America is the enemy of Islam," "Stop the Anglo-American genocide against the Iraqi people" and "God will avenge the blood of Iraqi children."

Several speakers accused Clinton of ordering the strikes to improve his image in the United States ahead of impeachment hearings in Congress. "This is operation Monica," read one sign. "Playboy Clinton, stop killing Iraqi children," read another.

In Ramallah, anti-American protests turned nasty when Israeli soldiers manning roadblocks outside the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeiv opened fire on protesters, many of whom were Beir Zeit University students, killing 17-year-old Mohamed Dawoud, the fifth Palestinian to be killed by Israeli bullets in the past two weeks.

In Hebron, several thousand Palestinians chanted "death to America" and "death to Britain" and trampled on President Clinton's pictures, the very ones they were asked by the PA to hold aloft just a few days earlier. One placard read, "Clinton is not our friend; he is our enemy."

The protests in the West Bank were more a demonstration of solidarity with the Iraqi people -- whom most Palestinians believe are the real victims of the bombings -- than a show of support for the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. "The helpless Iraqi people are themselves victims of Saddam Hussein; so America and its little dog, Britain, are trying to help the Iraqi people by raining death on Baghdad," said Sheikh Nayef Rajub, imam of the grand mosque in Dura.

Many Palestinians, like other Arabs and Muslims, were particularly offended by Clinton's assertion that he ordered the bombing of Iraq four days ahead of the holy month of Ramadan because he did not want to hurt Muslim feelings by starting Operation Desert Fox at the beginning of the Muslim month of fasting. Friday sermon preachers described the remark as "a stark and wanton example of adding insult to injury." "Does the American playboy think that the killing of innocent people is not permissible in Ramadan but permissible during the other 11 months of the year?" demanded Sheik Rafik Al-Khatib, imam of the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron.

The Untied States and Britain were not the only targets of Palestinian anger. Much of the indignation expressed during the marches and demonstrations protesting the bombing was directed at the "disgraceful and treacherous" Arab leaders. In Hebron, protesters carried placards caricaturing Uncle Sam asking "who's next?" with many Arab leaders appearing in the background waiting to be attacked.

The strikes placed the PA, particularly President Yasser Arafat, in a very embarrassing situation in the eyes of Palestinian public opinion. When Clinton visited Gaza and later Bethlehem on 14 and 15 December, Arafat praised him lavishly, describing him, among other things, as "the greatest friend of the Palestinian people," and "the messenger of peace." The euphoria reached its zenith when Fatah official Abbas Zaki claimed, "we have been blessed by this visit."

In order not to spoil what the PA believes will be a flourishing relationship with Washington, police ordered the closure of six private television and radio stations in the West Bank for "over-covering the anti-American demonstrations" and "endangering Palestinian relations with a friendly country." The outlets were allowed to reopen after the bombing ended on Saturday night.

As for Israel, officials sought to distance themselves from the strikes. Privately, however, the Israeli reaction was one of glee and profound satisfaction, seeing one of Israel's enemies in the region crushed at no cost. The four-day military strike was also a good chance to ease the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for failing to implement the Wye Plantation accord signed in October.

Despite the official Israeli propaganda that claimed Iraq's arsenal was one of the biggest threats to its security, most Israelis did not believe Saddam Hussein would fire Scud missiles at them as he did during the 1991 Gulf War. Still, the US assisted Israel in deploying several Patriot missile batteries throughout the country in case of an Iraqi Scud attack.

Indeed, some Israeli opposition figures suggested that the Netanyahu government show some gratitude to the Americans for "smashing Iraq's military capabilities" by displaying a modicum of goodwill on the Palestinian track. However, Netanyahu decided on Sunday to suspend implementation of the accord until the PA fulfils new conditions not stipulated in the original deal.