NABLUS, 8 March 2005 — Unlike many Palestinian bombers, Abdallah Badran was not feted with portraits pasted on town walls after he blew himself up at an Israeli nightclub on Feb. 25.
And for the first time, militant factions which once competed to take responsibility for any attack and adopt the bomber as one of their own rushed to distance themselves from the explosion that killed five Israelis.
Sentiment in Palestinian society has swung against violence since Mahmoud Abbas was elected president in January after Yasser Arafat’s death and engineered a cease-fire, a precondition for US-sponsored talks with Israel on Palestinian statehood.
Badran’s violation of the truce caused widespread anger and condemnation by Palestinians for the first time since a revolt started in Sept. 2000.
“Not a single poster was printed for Abdallah Badran. This is the first time people haven’t printed posters of a bomber. It is a sign people rejected the bombing,” said Palestinian politician Abdel-Fattah Hamayel. “The celebrations that used to follow such attacks did not take place this time either.”
The bombing shook hopes for peacemaking, which have emerged in Israel and the Palestinian territories since Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, issued mutual commitments to calm at a summit in Egypt on Feb. 8.
Outside Hand
Islamic Jihad leaders exiled in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv attack after cell commanders in the West Bank and Gaza denied any involvement and reiterated their commitment to a pledge of quiet given to Abbas.
Aides to Abbas said initial inquiries showed that the Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, orchestrated the bombing by a splinter cell in the West Bank.
They said some exiled Islamic Jihad leaders in Lebanon and Syria apparently commissioned it without consulting local West Bank and Gaza counterparts. Hizbollah denied any link to the attack, which led to six arrests by Palestinian police.
Confronted by a loss of local community support for attacks, many militants have lost motivation to carry out more.
“Badran is a martyr after all, but no one wants to adopt him or take care of his family. This is new and worrying. We now know everyone wants to give a political settlement a chance,” said Ala Sanakreh, a leading Fatah militant on Israel’s wanted list.
“None of the factions wants to be held responsible for foiling the truce at a time of great hope for the resumption of peace moves. This is new,” said Civil Affairs Minister and Gaza security strongman Mohammad Dahlan.
The Sharon-Abbas truce deal and the relative calm that has followed have raised Palestinian hopes of normality and economic improvement after four years of bloodshed and deprivation.
But Israel responded to the Tel Aviv attack by suspending plans to pull back forces from several West Bank cities and reconsidering a promise to free hundreds of prisoners.
Palestinian concern about missing a window of opportunity heightened this month when Israel said it had foiled an attack by seizing an explosives-laden car, while militants detonated another car bomb near soldiers in Nablus.
Hopes of Prisoner Releases Dim
Neither incident caused Israeli casualties but some Nablus residents responded by openly cursing militants for behavior that could shelve releases of relatives from Israeli prisons.
However, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants in Abbas’s Fatah movement who rigged the Nablus car bomb said they had been provoked by continued Israeli army raids to detain wanted men.
Fatah’s executive had earlier withheld the salaries of Brigades gunmen to protest at their refusal to obey orders for restraint. Gunmen Tired of Running
Fatah militant Sanakreh and other fugitives said they now counted on Abbas to reach a deal with Israel to end their life on the run.
“I’m a fugitive. In recent weeks I have felt safe enough to go back to my house and see my friends and family again. But after the Tel Aviv attack I’m back in hiding,” said Mohamad Zetawi, a Brigades member in Tulkarm.
“Such an attack, criticized by all Palestinians and factions, makes one think 100 times before considering to carry out an attack these days.”
The Palestinian Authority has been holding talks with Israel over the status of some 390 fugitives wanted for involvement in attacks against Israel.
Many now admit they erred in aiding bombings.
Abbas has condemned the use of arms against Israel and vowed a switch to peaceful means of achieving statehood via a US-backed “road map” peace plan dusted off after Arafat died.
He has begun anti-violence security reforms to help fulfill conditions Palestinians must fulfill to start negotiations.
After the Tel Aviv bombing, Israel demanded Abbas disarm and jail militants, saying his effort to co-opt them would fail.
But Palestinian leaders believe that widespread dismay among ordinary people over the Tel Aviv attack was proof that Abbas’s use of persuasion with militants was making a big impact.
“By distancing themselves from the attack, the factions are saying they want to adhere to the truce and give him a chance to reach a peace deal,” said Hussein Al-Sheikh, a Fatah official.