College students hear a self-critical Palestinian

Perhaps nowhere today is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more hotly debated than on college campuses. With the latest surge in terrorism in Israel, many pro-Israel students—like their brethren in the Jewish state—have been left with sense of unease, dread, and countless questions about what is driving young Palestinians to stab Jewish Israelis en masse.

In a bid to better understand the situation, nearly 100 students from Northeastern University in Boston recently gathered in an event organized by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America’s (CAMERA) campus arm to listen to noted Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid. 

Eid, who hails from eastern Jerusalem, came prepared to offer an unlikely perspective. He directed significant blame towards his own people and their leaders, which is something rarely seen among Arab Muslims discussing the Middle East today.

Much of Eid’s criticism was directed towards the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, who also leads the Fatah political party. 

“Abbas is managing the conflict, not trying to solve it,” Eid told his Northeastern audience.

“Fatah is committing a big crime, including Abbas, by increasing the violence against the Israelis,” Eid expanded in his comments to JNS.org, citing the Palestinian officials’ rampant incitement to violence.

Eid referred to remarks Abbas gave Sept. 16 regarding the Temple Mount, a holy site at which Abbas and many Arab leaders have accused Israel of seeking to change the status quo, despite countless statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the contrary. 

“[The] Al-Aqsa [mosque on the Temple Mount] is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. [Israelis] have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet. We won’t allow them to do so and we will do whatever we can to defend Jerusalem,” Abbas said, adding, “Each drop of blood that was spilled in Jerusalem is pure blood as long as it’s for the sake of Allah.”