Abbas decided he had had enough. Rais likes to be done as he says. After a long period in which the governors of the provinces in Judea and Samaria do whatever they want, and deviate from the line he has drawn for them, his patience has run out. His decision to fire the governors shows that he has lost faith in those closest to him. This is what a leader in paranoia looks like, some would say justified.
Palestinian sources familiar with the situation say that the panic that gripped the PA chairman gradually increased following the appearance of the militants and the rise in power of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, especially in northern Samaria. "Abu Mazen believes that the governors have failed in their mission to prevent Hamas and the militias from taking over large areas while pushing out the PA. If he had left them in office, he would have continued to lose control and approached a situation where the PA would collapse," they explained.
Mahmoud Abbas meets with Erdogan and a Hamas delegation // Photo: Arab networks
The straw that broke the camel's back, they said, were the erroneous reports that the governors submitted to the chairman of the authority regarding the struggle against the armed militias. "He understood that the governors were misleading him, so that the information and assessments presented to him did not match what was happening in reality, and that they were not acting properly to really fight Hamas." His suspicion of them intensified following Israel's recent operation in Jenin, when the Israeli security establishment gave Mahmoud Abbas information that members of the PA's security forces had also taken part in the fighting against the IDF. Here another red line was crossed, and this time Ramallah wanted to clearly mark where the border is.
A succession battle is going on behind the scenes. Mahmoud Abbas, archive, photo: Reuters
The role of governor is a personal appointment of Mahmoud Abbas, and he serves as his personal representative for all intents and purposes in the province for which he is responsible, including assuming responsibility for the Palestinian security apparatuses operating in his territory. He has broad powers, which even allow him to order administrative detention orders against dissidents.
The Muqata'a leader would not have taken such a drastic step had he not felt that the ground was burning beneath his feet. It does not appear that he chose this step for public relations reasons, for if that were the basis of the decision, he would have long ago taken care to remove the governors from office in light of the many complaints from the Palestinian public about acts of corruption and abuse of their high office.
Mahmoud Abbas on an unusual visit to Jenin. Will quiet return to the city?, Photo: Reuters
It is also impossible to exclude the connection to the succession struggle that is taking place behind the scenes. The chairman of the authority wants to be sure that the loyalty of the people he appoints is undeniable. In this exact matter, there is almost no room for mercy. He decided to cut the wings of long-serving governors, those who "fell in love with the job" and gained so much power that they began to afford to stop resolutely enforcing order. After all, they, too, are preparing for the day after, and therefore do not want to burn themselves, let alone get involved with Hamas or any other party, in order to keep all options open for the moment when Abu Mazen leaves the arena. The fact that some of them are known to have ties with security officials in Israel did not stand in Abbas' way.
There is also an attempt to signal to Israel and the Americans that he is in control and does not hesitate to fire "those who are negligent in the fight against terror." Some will see this as an opportunity and an opening for positive change, but on the other hand, it depends to a large extent on the factors he appoints and their ability to succeed where their predecessors failed.
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