Why Is the Palestinian Authority Weak? Israeli Occupation - Opinion - Haaretz.com
One reason being cited in the mounting calls from some politicians, settlers and analysts to launch a military operation in the northern West Bank is the Palestinian Authority’s weakness, its inability to control what happens in the area.
There is truth to the argument about the PA’s weakness, but the Israeli approach, as usual, considers the PA from a single perspective – Israeli security – that is based on a sense of supremacy.
“We, the sovereign lords of the land, expect our subcontractor to do the dirty work of the occupation” – to arrest suspects, thwart terror attacks, disempower the refugee camps. In return, there will be handsome compensation (for top PA officials) and partial salaries for police officers and other security personnel. That is the whole equation.
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From this perspective, the only criterion by which the PA is measured is its ability to provide Israelis, including the settlers, with peace and quiet. Responsibility for the serious crisis in the Palestinian health services, and the strikes by teachers and civil servants who are not getting paid, also lies with the PA, but this part doesn’t interest the Israeli government or public. It is perceived as an internal Palestinian problem that derives from improper administration and corruption.
As long as Israel goes on adhering to this position, there is no chance that the PA will get any stronger, because the main reason for its weakening is the thing that Israel would rather not talk about – the occupation.
An Israeli border guard pepper sprays a Palestinian protester during clashes in the West Bank town of Hawara, 2022.Credit: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP
The slogan “The occupation corrupts” is not a cliché, it’s a fact. At 75, Israel defines itself as a properly functioning state of law, but while it is militarily and economically powerful, the country is also clearly on a slippery slope of corruption. Is it any wonder that the PA, which was established 30 years ago to be a five-year interim solution, is tainted by corruption?
When it was founded, the PA was supposed to constitute a basis for institutions that would govern in a sovereign state with geographic contiguity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But the reality is that Gaza is disconnected due to an internal Palestinian rift that Israel is careful to preserve, and the Palestinians’ West Bank territory is shrinking by the day.
Given the declarations and decisions by settler leaders and ministers, with the prime minister’s backing, there appears to be no chance of even advancing any kind of dialogue about a peace process. Instead, all we hear about is settlement expansion and further hemming in of the Palestinians’ living space. Even someone who has a home cannot feel secure because of violent attacks by settlers, which have become routine.
Aftermath of the settlers’ rampage in Hawara in February.Credit: Moti Milrod
The PA’s security services have no authority to provide protection to civilians. The “Oslo generation” that has been waiting 30 years now for a state with a sovereign leadership, and the generation after it, the generation of the second intifada, understand that there is no horizon anymore.
There aren’t many in Israel or the international community who care about them, and with a weary and worn-out PA and a society torn by deep rifts, the only way out they see is struggle, including violent struggle. This attitude is reflected in every internal Palestinian survey, even though this struggle has no clear strategy or political backing from above.
For years, Israel and other countries have been trying to apply the formula of an economic peace, but this idea is likewise going nowhere because finally the Palestinians are not starving, and their dream is not limited to being the Jews’ subcontractors. If Israel really wishes to strengthen the PA, it will have to strengthen the purpose for which it was established – to be a basis for a just political solution. Otherwise, there is no justification for its existence.
At present, the PA is only serving the occupation. Which is why Netanyahu, who adamantly opposes any political accord, has done his best to prop it up.