Will the PA declare itself a State under occupation?

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Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas’ declaration on the ending all ties and the cutting of all coordination with Israel is generating internal criticism of the decision, which was adopted without consulting professional echelon.

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations on Feb. 11, 2020. Photo: Eskinder Debebe/U.N. Photo.

Ramallah officials told TPS that representatives of the PA are making extensive publicity efforts to justify the political decision, which is already exacting a civilian toll and is raising questions following the fear of instability in the civilian systems and the possible difficulty of sustaining trade in the coming days.

On the street, the PA is being criticized for failing to maintain public order following the increase in murders and clashes between clans, and mainly following a severe incident that occurred in the village of Hawara south of Shechem (Nablus) that resulted in the death of two brothers following such a clash.

A PA official told TPS that many scenarios are emerging regarding “the day after the annexation” and Abbas’ threats to cancel the agreements.

He said that one possibility that was suggested is that a senior PA official will declare the establishment of a “Palestinian state under occupation.” Such a declaration is intended to attract direct international involvement in the region.

The source said that according to this scenario, many of the PA leaders will be asked to go to the neighbouring countries to serve as an expatriate government, mainly from Egypt and Jordan.

According to him, the prevailing position in the PLO is that the PA should not be dismantled, but rather move towards the establishment of a Palestinian political entity by declaring “an exiled Palestinian state” or a “state under occupation,” which will require the intervention of the international community to provide it with protection.

Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat said in an interview Monday that the Palestinians have approached various states with a demand to recognize them as a state under occupation within the 1967 borders and to provide the Palestinian state with international protection.

Erekat added that Abbas has been talking to United Nations officials, leaders of China, the European Union, and Russia in recent days and is working to convene an international conference on Israeli annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria and the future of the diplomatic process.

Commentator Hanni al-Masri criticized the confusion, ambiguities, and interpretations surrounding Abbas’ decision to suspend the channels of coordination with Israel. He wrote that many questions remain unanswered, although they greatly affect the lives of Palestinian residents.

He also criticized the way in which decisions are made, which he describes as “a bet on international intervention for the Palestinians that turned out to be a mistake.”

Al-Masri warned that “the vacuum created by the Palestinian Authority may be filled with other forces” and therefore proposed to transfer the political role of the Palestinian Authority to the PLO institutions, and instead of the current authority, an administrative system will be established alongside the local police, thereby separating the political echelon in the PLO, which will continue to operate in the political field, and the executives and civil systems, which will continue to operate to manage the lives of Palestinian residents.