What next for the Palestinian Authority?

The latest news from the Palestinian Authority’s “Protecting the Homeland” operation in the Jenin refugee camp paints a grim picture. Nine Palestinian lives have been claimed in this ongoing crackdown, which began on Dec. 5, including a young journalist, Shaza Al-Sabbagh.
The assault, as reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, has expectedly received a stamp of approval from the Israeli occupation army. Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 14 confirmed that Tel Aviv had issued a clear deadline to the PA to finish the task — effectively eradicating what remains of the resistance in Jenin in the name of ending lawlessness and apprehending outlaws.
It is an irony that has become all too familiar: the Palestinian entity that was supposed to represent the will of the people and lead them toward freedom has become complicit in crushing resistance in one of the most marginalized and impoverished areas of the West Bank. This is the heart of the Palestinian paradox in the West Bank.
For years, the PA has demanded unflinching obedience from the Palestinian people in the name of preparing Palestine for sovereignty and statehood. Yet, as the years have passed, this pledge has slipped further and further away. In its place, the PA seems to have become complicit in the expansion of Israel’s territorial control and the erosion of Palestinian rights. This might be a difficult conclusion to digest, but the killing of innocent Palestinians in Jenin at the hands of Palestinian security forces, while Israel and its settlers are cracking down on Palestinians elsewhere in the West Bank, should be all the proof needed to support this claim.
Moreover, the PA’s strategy of appeasing Israel through “security coordination” has done little to hinder its systematic land grab and the continued construction of illegal settlements.

There is a deep-seated belief among some that a public confrontation with the PA would lead to greater disunity.

Ramzy Baroud

The operation in Jenin is a clear manifestation of how Israel uses the PA to carry out its dirty work. The Jenin refugee camp, which covers an area of less than 0.5 sq. km, has always been a symbol of Palestinian resistance. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel has raided Jenin 80 times in the last year alone, killing more than 220 Palestinians and wounding hundreds more. But Jenin remains unbowed.
What complicates this crisis even further is the silence of many Palestinian intellectuals, both in the West Bank and the diaspora, who have failed to confront the PA with the same vigor with which they criticize the Israeli occupation. But why have so many prominent voices, intellectuals and political analysts remained mute on this issue?
The answer lies in a complex mixture of fear, political pragmatism and historical inertia. For decades, the PA has maintained a stranglehold on the political landscape of Palestinian life. It controls the levers of power. Palestinian intellectuals, particularly those in the West Bank, are all too aware of this reality.
Additionally, there is a deep sense of paralysis within the Palestinian intellectual community in the West Bank, in part due to their leadership’s failure to confront Israel over the ongoing genocide in Gaza. But there is more to this ongoing paralysis.
For years, the PA has framed itself as the “sole legitimate representative” of the Palestinian people. Many intellectuals who would normally criticize Israel’s occupation are unwilling to take on the PA for fear of further fragmenting the Palestinians. There is a deep-seated belief among some that a public confrontation with the PA would lead to greater disunity, which could play into Israel’s hands.
But can the PA be saved? The answer may not even matter. What matters is whether the Palestinian people can, through their collective will and resistance, liberate themselves from Israel’s settler colonialism. The events of the coming weeks and months will be decisive.

• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and author. He is editor of The Palestine Chronicle and nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.” X: @RamzyBaroud