West Bank Palestinians Ambivalent Toward Syria War Talk
Palestinians in the West Bank find themselves relatively unaffected by the storm raging in Syria.
![Palestinians walk near the controversial Israeli barrier as they cross into Jerusalem at checkpoint in Bethlehem Palestinians walk near the controversial Israeli barrier as they cross into Jerusalem at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem July 26, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/08/RTX1244G.jpg/RTX1244G.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=2b0Sl0t9)
For the first time in decades, a major confrontation is about to take place in the Middle East in which Palestinians are totally uninvolved. The expected attack against Syria and the potential for the widening of the theater of war to neighboring countries has so far totally excluded Palestine. One informal chart shows lines of support and hatred between the various countries and parties in the region, with no mention of Palestine and Palestinians.
Part of the reason for confidence that Palestinians will not be on the receiving end of any retaliatory attack is the simple fact that in all direct and indirect threats by the Syrian government against Israel, Turkey and Jordan, the Palestinians have never been mentioned. In fact, Syrians, and for that matter, many other Arab regional powers, are competing to support Palestinians the most.