The British newspaper The Observer published a report from inside the world of angry armed youth in the occupied West Bank. It quoted analysts and officials as saying that these young men are completely different from their predecessors.

The newspaper, published every Sunday by the Guardian Media Foundation, claimed that armed Palestinian youth in the West Bank also differ from their counterparts in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

The report reviewed the escalation of confrontations between Palestinian youth and the Israeli army in the West Bank. It stated that the Balata camp remained for many years a stronghold of armed activity and a target for Israeli security forces.

The newspaper pointed out that violence has escalated sharply since the attacks of last October 7, and the subsequent Israeli attack on Gaza, which led to the deaths of more than 14,000 people, according to local authorities.

It explained that popular local television networks are broadcasting "unretouched" images of destruction and death in Gaza around the clock in stores, cafes and homes throughout the West Bank.

“The impact of what is happening on this generation will not only be in Gaza, but also among Palestinians in general and among Arabs and the world,” said H. A. Hellyer, an expert on extremism issues at the Carnegie Center for International Peace.

The British newspaper conducted interviews with 10 armed young men in the cities of Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank, which it said were sufficient to identify the new wave of armed activity in the occupied Palestinian territories. All of the young men stated that their ultimate goal is to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

The Observer quoted Hellyer as believing that ideology did not play a major role in the decision of young people in the West Bank to take up arms.

According to Michael Millstein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and expert on Palestinian affairs at Tel Aviv University, this generation of militants grew up in a “very complex and chaotic” situation, claiming that the youth’s exposure to what he calls incitement is a reflection of deeper problems in the Palestinian arena.

Many armed youth in the West Bank expressed their longing to achieve victory or martyrdom, but they do not approve of suicide operations as a method of resistance, according to the British newspaper.

There is another change in the view of the new generation of Palestinian youth in the West Bank from the view of previous generations regarding resistance operations. Among the variables is the resort of “dissident” factions - such as the group called “Lions’ Den” in Nablus - to the use of social media in their struggle against Israel.

According to the newspaper, several analysts talk about the current youth’s disillusionment with the generation of older Palestinian politicians, who are seen as “collaborators” with Israel, saying that this has left a vacuum that has been filled by armed groups.

In this regard, Nour Odeh, a political commentator and analyst in Ramallah, says that these young men speak a language that the old leaders do not speak, and they use sarcasm and humor, adding, “They are a generation that is tired of everyone. They are frustrated, disappointed and let down.”

The newspaper goes on to say that the streets in Nablus and Jenin were filled with thousands of people to mourn the martyrs of the clashes with the Israeli forces, and they fired a barrage of bullets into the air as an expression of their determination.

It concluded its report with a statement by a young Palestinian man named Abboud (19 years old), carrying a rifle, in which he said that they had no choice but to buy a weapon to fight the enemy.

Source: Observer+ Aljazeera