In Nablus, none of the messages shared locally as part of the "day of rage" declared in the Palestinian territories on Wednesday, October 19, were actually carried out to the letter. And not for lack of motivation. Since the announcement, the day before, of the explosion of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza - which caused numerous civilian casualties – the West Bank town had many choices when it came to expressing its anger: the long-standing resentment linked to daily life in the Israeli-occupied territories; the recent resentment, provoked by the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7; and the muted but deep-seated resentment directed at the Palestinian Authority.

The attack carried out in Israel by Hamas – which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, and the taking of almost 200 hostages – was perceived as a feat in the occupied territories. There, the words used to describe it are chosen in a register that leaves little room for compassion for the victims. On Al-Quds Street, where some of the demonstrators on this "day of anger" were gathered, Ramzi, aged 18, was looking for the right word to describe the first act of this new phase that has brought the Palestinian issue back into the spotlight. He settled on "incident."

Then he moved straight on to the question of the day. A few hours earlier, two more specific orders had been issued in Nablus. Firstly, to reach the Israeli army checkpoint at Huwara, one of the seven access points controlling entry to and exit from the town, to challenge or attack the soldiers. At the same time, they have taken over the tomb of Joseph, a central biblical figure, to the east of Nablus. This a place of great symbolic value, where, when conditions allow, settlers from the region come to worship under heavily armed protection. In both cases, the Palestinian security forces were unable to stop them.

Hamas flags were waved in the procession as it tried to move toward the Huwara checkpoint. After the dispersal, fires darkened the sky, blankets of tear gas hovered in the air and stones flew against a backdrop of chases between young people and police on Al-Quds Street. Adnan, 17 and from a well-off family, had come to express his anger and let a few words slip through his braces-covered teeth. "There's an anger in us, a rage that's exploding as we see the massacre of the people of Gaza. And here, it's the Palestinian Authority that's blocking us."

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