Revolution in the air at last

摘要

Whereas Israel's settlements, the building of a separation barrier through the West Bank and sporadic bouts of violence have failed in the past seven years or so to rouse the Palestinians to a mass insurrection, the cost of petrol and bread might yet succeed. In recent demonstrations across the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority (pa) is supposed to be in charge, cries of anger have quickly switched from "Down with prices!" to "Down with Salam Fayyad!", the pa's prime minister, "Down with Mahmoud Abbas!", the pa's president, and, after a week of protests, "Down with the Oslo accords!", the agreement in 1993 between Israel and the Palestinians which gave birth.