Political Analysis: The Ramallah Authority Confronts Its People

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By: Prof. Dr. Mohsen Mohammad Saleh.

No national liberation movement has been as hindered by its leadership as the Palestinian people have been, especially under Mahmud ‘Abbas’s rule. No authority, bearing a national name, has so effectively served the occupation and colonization oppressing its people as the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah has.

The functional role of the PA has reached an unprecedented level of popular disdain and anger, with an overwhelming Palestinian majority expressing distrust in President ‘Abbas and calling for his resignation (90% of the people in the West Bank (WB), where he rules, support his removal). Furthermore, a significant portion of the Palestinian population has rejected the peace process and even advocates for the dissolution of the PA.

The PA is currently, in the spirit of “If you have no shame, do as you please,” executing an Israeli-US agenda by attempting to impose the occupation’s policies on the Jenin refugee camp (RC). In doing so, it is effectively accomplishing what Israel has failed to achieve in recent years: eliminating and disarming the resistance while bringing the Jenin RC back into the fold.

‘Abbas issued strict orders to his security commanders to launch an operation to take control of Jenin and its RC, warning that anyone who violates these orders will be fired. An audio recording circulating on social media features a PA security officer speaking in colloquial language, stating that, per the instructions of “Mr. President” and security commanders, there will be no withdrawal from the Jenin RC until the heads of the resistance youth and the necks of their families are trampled, and the RC is completely demilitarized. Notably, the officer implies that a withdrawal without achieving this goal would signify the end of the PA!! This may be what the Israelis and Americans have suggested to the PA.

The security escalation has caused casualties on Palestinian both sides and fueled widespread public anger toward the PA. Even many security forces employees, despite their affiliation with the PA and alignment with its political and security stance, found no logic in its actions. Resistance sources reported leaks suggesting that the PA had detained 237 military personnel who refused to participate in the Jenin operation, though this information has not been confirmed by other sources.

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The plan being implemented by the PA in Jenin and its RC stems from the Aqaba Summit held on 26/2/2023, which brought together the PA, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the US, as well as the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit on 19/3/2023, with the same parties in attendance. The discussions focused on a US security plan, overseen by General Michael Fenzel, which proposes training approximately five thousand Palestinian security personnel in Jordan under US supervision to help control Jenin and Nablus.

It seems that the implementation of the plan has been postponed, possibly to allow time for the necessary elements to be trained. Operation al-Aqsa Flood and the challenges it imposed appear to have contributed to this delay, with a wait for more favorable conditions. However, the prolongation of the battle, coupled with Trump’s victory in the US presidential election and his imminent assumption of power, prompted the PA to present its “credentials” as “worthy of US trust,” signaling its ability to subjugate the Palestinian people.

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To Israel, the primary justification for the existence of the PA is its security role. Former Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, during his tenure in September 2021, stated that 90 per cent of Israel’s relationship with the PA concerns security coordination. This stance reflects the broader political, security and military perspectives in Israel. While Lapid’s view represents the Israeli political “center,” the far-right, led by Likud and the Religious Zionists under Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, advocates for either transforming the PA into a “full agent working for Israel,” akin to the “Antoine Lahad army,” or dismantling it into six or seven cantons in WB, each serving the security needs of the occupation.

The PA has lost its way and its sense of national responsibility, failing to grasp the full implications of Operation al-Aqsa Flood. It has failed to address the brutality, massacres, destruction and starvation inflicted by the Iraeli occupation, which vents its hatred and racism against the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip (GS). Furthermore, the PA has suppressed expressions of popular support in WB for GS and the resistance. It has ignored the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, who support the resistance, reject the Oslo Accords and security coordination, and demand ‘Abbas’s resignation.

The PA witnesses firsthand how Israel systematically undermines its authority by confiscating and Judaizing land and holy sites, and how government leaders have declared the end of the Oslo Accords, the demise of the Palestinian state, and their intention to annex the majority of WB. This PA coordinates with the US to secure military assistance for suppressing resistance in Jenin, where, according to Axios, “This operation is a make or break moment for the Palestinian Authority,” one Palestinian official said. It appears the PA is racing against time to justify its existence to both the occupation and the incoming Trump administration, which it fears may adopt an extreme Israeli stance on annexing the C areas, making up 60% of WB, thus ending the PA’s role. This is especially concerning as Trump has shown little regard for the Oslo Accords or the peace process.

In line with the Palestinian popular stance and the position of most Palestinian factions, the PA should stop begging for favors from Israel, which would strip it of its national role and effectively end its purpose with the Palestinian people. Instead, as long as both the PA and the very essence of its existence are under attack, it should focus on strengthening its people, resistance and self, while reinforcing national unity and solidifying Palestinian ranks… especially in the face of an occupation that responds only to the language of force.

However, the PA leadership appears determined to end its tenure in a manner consistent with its historical pattern (in the last 17 years), by diminishing itself as the worst leadership of a people in a state of national liberation, retreating into personal interests and factional infighting.