Word: israel
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...front of the city hall of Nablus there is a large mob. It turns out that everybody wants to see the mayor. As I enter the mayor's office another stereotype vanishes. People in Israel had told me about hand-carved mahogany chairs and tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl. On the contrary, the office is simple, nearly austere. Mayor Hamdi Kan'an is seated in front of a desk with his coat on; the room is under-heated on this unusually cold winter day. In a corner there is one electric heater. Mr. Kan'an tells me that...
...will that bring peace, I ask. He says that it will prove the goodwill of Israel and also, that it means that Israel is not thinking of annexation. But how does this help the peace, I say, and remind him of the common Arab position--unwillingness to accept Israel's existence even if she with-draws her forces. "Everyoe is affected by goodwill," Mr. Kan'an answers, though he admits that Nasser will not accept Israel's existence until the rights of every single Palestinian Arab are given back...
Mayor Kan'an emphasizes towards the end of our conversation that he feels no personal hatred towards the Jews of Israel. Another inhabitant of Nablus, a prominent businessman, assures me that the Jordanians had always been brought up to hate the Jews. As a result of the war, he finds a general change of opinion about Israel and the Israelis among the people of Nablus. "We knew nothing about Israel before and know everything now," he says. He himself has been to Tel Aviv, Yaffo, Natanya and Haifa and finds the cities "nice." He calls Israel a really European country...
...distinction is made between soldiers and officers in the Israeli army. The people he calls "kind and gentle, not bad at all compared to what we used to hear on the radio." Yet he has just published a book which is not at all pro-Israeli. He emphasizes that Israel has to go back to the old borders. Is that a condition for peace, I want to know. "No, the Palestinian question has to be solved as a condition for peace...
Just before I leave he quickly adds: "And remember, we can't shake hands with Israel either as long as the gun is still in their hands...