For the past month, a crisis of trust between the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah and the UN envoy for the Middle East, Thor Wensland, has been going on under the radar. According to a Palestinian source, the tensions reached a peak following Wensland's harsh statement against the leadership of the Palestinian Authority and its head, Abu Mazen.
Abu Mazen's speech at the United Nations, September 2022 // Photo: Reuters
In the background of this is the decision of the UN envoy to visit Jenin in mid-October without receiving a green light from the Palestinian Authority. "He went there, held meetings on his own accord without giving the Authority the opportunity to prepare in advance," said Palestinian sources.
"Avoid talking to him."
Tor Vansland, photo: UNSCO
During his visit to Jenin and the refugee camp in the city, the UN envoy held a series of meetings with political and local figures. A Palestinian official said that Wensland also met with Fatah members from the camp of Muhammad Dahlan, Abu Mazen's bitter political opponent, which angered the PA chairman and his associates.
While the UN envoy defined the meetings as "constructive" and wrote on Twitter that they dealt with "the deteriorating security situation and ways to restore peace and hope for a political solution", the Palestinian side said that these were unofficial meetings that he held independently.
When Wensland was asked why he did not coordinate the visit with the relevant officials in Ramallah, he criticized the PA's leadership, and replied: "I tried to get in touch several times, but the president and his entourage went (to Kazakhstan). They have no time for their own people."
The statement was leaked by one of Tanzim-Fatah's people and reached the ears of Abu Mazen.
This is according to a Palestinian source who spoke to Israel Hayom.
The visit to Jenin sparked outrage, photo: IDF spokesman
Following this, Abu Mazen ordered the members of the Palestinian Authority to boycott Wonsland, to ignore him, not to meet with him, not to receive him and to avoid talking to him.
"The tension rose after the last round of fighting in Gaza when he leaned in favor of Israel in his statements at the UN and accused Hamas and Jihad of launching rockets from civilian locations.
It is true that there is a division between Gaza and Ramallah, but in the end the PA sees itself as the umbrella of all the Palestinian territories.
They are not satisfied with him because of the pro-Israeli reports he submits to the UN.
It presents the Palestinians as those who practice violence, and the Israelis as those who only react," explained the source.
We met on Vansland after the guard of the walls, photo: AP
Wonsland is not respected in Gaza either.
The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sanwar, met with him once after the "Guardian of the Walls" operation.
The meeting was described as "bad", and at the end of it, Sinwar waved his hand and motioned for Wensland to leave.
After the kidnapping of the body of the Israeli Tiran Pero last week in Jenin, Wensland entered the mediating picture, but even then the Palestinians avoided involving him in what happened.
Wensland took up his position about two years ago.
In Ramallah they expected him to play a dominant role in promoting the political process and take a more decisive and active position in favor of the Palestinian side.
Against the background of the disappointment with his performance, in the ruling circles in Ramallah a proposal was made to contact the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and ask to replace Wensland and consider him an "undesirable personality".
However, sources in Ramallah said that the disconnection is with Wensland himself and that they are not confiscating his office.
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