Dissecting the dissenters

A striking feature of the demonstrations of the last few days in the cartoon-debacle is the composition of the demonstrators. In the west-bank it is a very distinct demographic group that are doing theirs: young, armed men in casual clothes. The colour green is absent from these demonstrations.

This suggests that two of the trends that I have mentioned on the blog, this one, and this one, has run together: Hamas is clearly staying out of the trouble and leaves the demonstrating to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Fatah. These two groups on the other hand takes advantage of the presence given to the Danish case and tries to rally themselves and their surroundings in the wake of the utter electoral defeat.

In that way the Cartoon-case has become a useful symbol for domestic politics in the Palestinian territories.