President Biden and the US administration, several European countries, and Israeli politicians, led by Yair Lapid, have declared that in their eyes the preferred option is PA rule. The heart of the Israeli debate revolves around the security aspects and the PA's ability to provide Israel with security, but it misses another important aspect: Is the PA capable of controlling and providing the citizens of Gaza (and Judea and Samaria) with the basic services that a governing body is supposed to provide to its citizens? In these aspects, too, the PA is a failed body.
After being established in the 1994 Oslo Accords, the PA assumed full civic responsibility for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, alongside partial security responsibilities. Over the years, it has failed to provide security neither to its residents nor to Israelis. Members of its security forces were themselves partners in terrorism against Israel.
The PA was supposed to establish effective governmental apparatuses and functioning institutions that would provide services to its residents, governmental institutions, and judicial, legislative and executive branches. Thirty years later, the PA's achievements are very meager.
The Palestinian political system has been paralyzed for almost two decades. Since its establishment, the PA has held two rounds of elections. The last ones were held in 2006. Hamas won 43% of the vote and control of parliament, then took control of the Gaza Strip and took power from the PA with murderous violence. But even in the West Bank, the PA is dysfunctional: the Palestinian parliament hardly convenes, and Palestinian law is based on presidential decrees.
The PA's economy is also a failure: the Palestinians have not been able to develop a significant economic sector other than local trade, small industry, and agriculture that barely meets the needs of the population. GDP per capita was $2021,3 in 460, significantly lower than the regional average. The PA's budget is only about $4 billion a year, and the scope of external debt is identical to GDP.
The PA presents itself as a functioning body. In practice - it is hollow. Therefore, it is not surprising that according to a survey published in recent days, only 10% of residents of the West Bank and Gaza trust the PA – while Hamas has 75% confidence
At the same time, the PA is a corrupt body. 62% of residents believe that the level of corruption there is high. A quarter of them were involved in bribing PA employees. Reports on corruption in the PA indicate corrupt conduct by the government apparatuses, from the president through his ministers to employees of the central government and local authorities. Accordingly, the PA operates in the absence of transparency.
The PA does not really control the West Bank, which is run at the local level mainly by clans that control the various areas, and has no real ability to enforce the law vis-à-vis those with vested interests and power. To the world, the PA presents itself as a functioning body. In practice - it is hollow. Therefore, it is not surprising that according to a survey published in recent days, only 10% of residents of the West Bank and Gaza trust the PA – while Hamas enjoys 75%.
Therefore, it is clear that the PA is not suitable – even if it is "strengthened," as Biden suggests, which has failed time and time again. The solution is an international body that will assume responsibility in the first stage, and the establishment of Palestinian governing bodies that will provide a civilian response to the residents of the Gaza Strip in the second stage. This is in parallel with continued Israeli security control on the ground, until a security alternative is found.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us