Nov. 29, Palestinian style

In Ramallah on Wednesday, they couldn't wait for the U.N. debate on the Palestinian request for statehood to conclude. Many Palestinians preferred to put the carriage before the horse and celebrate imminent statehood in the streets.

In reality, only several thousand took to the streets. According to some reports, they were sent by the Palestinian Authority, who dismissed them from their schools and workplaces and ordered them into the squares of Ramallah to gather, wave flags and herald PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Palestinians were eager to recreate the celebrations that filled the streets of Israel on Nov. 29 1947, after the U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine was passed in the General Assembly. After all, for many years now the P.A. has been trying to emulate the pre-state Jewish settlement movement, in an attempt to create facts on the ground, one step at a time, and build state-related institutions for their impending nation.

It seems that the Palestinians are eager to celebrate statehood rather than taking the longer route of establishing a peace treaty, which would require waiting patiently and building their state properly. The state of Israel was not established on the basis of the General Assembly vote alone, but also due to a united Jewish community lead by heroic leaders who were willing to make difficult decisions.

Gaza had a different look than Ramallah on Wednesday. While thousands celebrated in the streets in the PA capital, in the Hamas stronghold, life went on as usual. It was as if the events unfolding in the halls of the U.N. had nothing to do with them. Hamas has not been shy in its criticism of Abbas' move. In its view, the Palestinian bid is a recognition -- even if an indirect one -- of Israel as well.

It is possible that Wednesday's celebrations in the streets of Ramallah were authentic, and they could indicate the Palestinian will to establish a state of their own. But it is too early to determine if the Palestinians will prefer to advance via politics -- the PA way -- or via confrontation and violence, which is the way of Hamas.

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