The Palestinians’ Predicament

In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn, a deal that called on both parties to reach a permanent status agreement within five years. Nearly three decades later, no deal has been reached. But while most believe the lack of resolution to the Palestinian question is due to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, infighting among the Palestinians themselves also deserves some of the blame.



The recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza revived international interest in the issue. But the Palestinians have no reason to celebrate. In addition to their battle with Israel for statehood, there are major issues between and within the two largest parties governing the Palestinian territories, Fatah and Hamas. Left unresolved, these issues will block any attempts to achieve statehood and better the lives of Palestinians.


Rampant Corruption


Corruption is a chronic problem in Palestinian politics, both in the West Bank and in Gaza. Yasser Arafat, who led the Fatah movement from 1968 until his death in 2004, had a paternalistic way of governing. He distributed resources selectively to promote loyalty and to suppress those who disagreed with him. When the Palestinian Authority was created in 1994, Arafat extended his leadership style to the PA. During his time in office, the PA received $8 billion from international donors for infrastructure and development projects in the Palestinian territories. But much of this was embezzled by senior members of his administration.


Arafat and the current president of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, created a bloated and lethargic bureaucracy of more than 165,000 civil servants, 44 percent of whom are part of the security apparatus. Their salaries are paid entirely by U.S. and EU funds. Having failed to develop institutions that attract staff based on merit, the PA became a hotbed of corruption, kleptocracy and abuse of anyone who took issue with the official party line.


More than 80 percent of West Bank residents believe corruption at the PA is pervasive. In the 2006 general election, voters showed their disapproval of Fatah by giving Hamas a decisive victory. But after assuming power, Hamas adopted Fatah’s clientelist approach to politics.


The situation is much worse in Gaza than in the West Bank. Since 2007, Israel has applied a blockade on Gaza, where average Palestinians live in poverty while Hamas leaders live in luxury. For example, the wealth of former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Qatar, exceeds $2.5 billion. Hamas’ official annual revenue exceeds $700 million, but between 2007 and 2014, it operated a lucrative underground economy using tunnels that generated more than $7 billion, which it did not disclose. A few years ago, Hamas signed deals with former Soviet republics to purchase military hardware and smuggle it to Gaza. The sales did not go through, and the funds ended up in the personal foreign bank accounts of Hamas leaders.


Factionalism


Palestinians have lost faith in both Fatah and Hamas. Even Pakistan’s top foreign diplomat urged the leaders of both groups to put their differences aside and fight for the Palestinian people’s best interests. But divisions within the two groups are now also emerging.

Red Lily wrote:Iran pulls Palestine's strings and it's hard to understand why most leftists worldwide continue to support Hamas over Israel.  They are as dangerous as those they support.

RV wrote:

Red Lily wrote:Iran pulls Palestine's strings and it's hard to understand why most leftists worldwide continue to support Hamas over Israel.  They are as dangerous as those they support.

As a famous saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Peter1469 wrote:Infighting between Fatah and Hamas is harming the Palestinian cause more than Israel who has made many peace offers that the Palestinians end up refusing.

The Palestinians’ Predicament

In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn, a deal that called on both parties to reach a permanent status agreement within five years. Nearly three decades later, no deal has been reached. But while most believe the lack of resolution to the Palestinian question is due to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, infighting among the Palestinians themselves also deserves some of the blame.



The recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza revived international interest in the issue. But the Palestinians have no reason to celebrate. In addition to their battle with Israel for statehood, there are major issues between and within the two largest parties governing the Palestinian territories, Fatah and Hamas. Left unresolved, these issues will block any attempts to achieve statehood and better the lives of Palestinians.


Rampant Corruption


Corruption is a chronic problem in Palestinian politics, both in the West Bank and in Gaza. Yasser Arafat, who led the Fatah movement from 1968 until his death in 2004, had a paternalistic way of governing. He distributed resources selectively to promote loyalty and to suppress those who disagreed with him. When the Palestinian Authority was created in 1994, Arafat extended his leadership style to the PA. During his time in office, the PA received $8 billion from international donors for infrastructure and development projects in the Palestinian territories. But much of this was embezzled by senior members of his administration.


Arafat and the current president of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, created a bloated and lethargic bureaucracy of more than 165,000 civil servants, 44 percent of whom are part of the security apparatus. Their salaries are paid entirely by U.S. and EU funds. Having failed to develop institutions that attract staff based on merit, the PA became a hotbed of corruption, kleptocracy and abuse of anyone who took issue with the official party line.


More than 80 percent of West Bank residents believe corruption at the PA is pervasive. In the 2006 general election, voters showed their disapproval of Fatah by giving Hamas a decisive victory. But after assuming power, Hamas adopted Fatah’s clientelist approach to politics.


The situation is much worse in Gaza than in the West Bank. Since 2007, Israel has applied a blockade on Gaza, where average Palestinians live in poverty while Hamas leaders live in luxury. For example, the wealth of former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Qatar, exceeds $2.5 billion. Hamas’ official annual revenue exceeds $700 million, but between 2007 and 2014, it operated a lucrative underground economy using tunnels that generated more than $7 billion, which it did not disclose. A few years ago, Hamas signed deals with former Soviet republics to purchase military hardware and smuggle it to Gaza. The sales did not go through, and the funds ended up in the personal foreign bank accounts of Hamas leaders.


Factionalism


Palestinians have lost faith in both Fatah and Hamas. Even Pakistan’s top foreign diplomat urged the leaders of both groups to put their differences aside and fight for the Palestinian people’s best interests. But divisions within the two groups are now also emerging.

Read the rest of the article at the link.

Calypso Jones wrote:The 'Palestinian' reaction to our 9-11

https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1787132816867643525

They celebrated even more wildly after the October 7 attack on Israel.

vege57 wrote:

Peter1469 wrote:Infighting between Fatah and Hamas is harming the Palestinian cause more than Israel who has made many peace offers that the Palestinians end up refusing.

The Palestinians’ Predicament

In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn, a deal that called on both parties to reach a permanent status agreement within five years. Nearly three decades later, no deal has been reached. But while most believe the lack of resolution to the Palestinian question is due to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, infighting among the Palestinians themselves also deserves some of the blame.



The recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza revived international interest in the issue. But the Palestinians have no reason to celebrate. In addition to their battle with Israel for statehood, there are major issues between and within the two largest parties governing the Palestinian territories, Fatah and Hamas. Left unresolved, these issues will block any attempts to achieve statehood and better the lives of Palestinians.


Rampant Corruption


Corruption is a chronic problem in Palestinian politics, both in the West Bank and in Gaza. Yasser Arafat, who led the Fatah movement from 1968 until his death in 2004, had a paternalistic way of governing. He distributed resources selectively to promote loyalty and to suppress those who disagreed with him. When the Palestinian Authority was created in 1994, Arafat extended his leadership style to the PA. During his time in office, the PA received $8 billion from international donors for infrastructure and development projects in the Palestinian territories. But much of this was embezzled by senior members of his administration.


Arafat and the current president of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, created a bloated and lethargic bureaucracy of more than 165,000 civil servants, 44 percent of whom are part of the security apparatus. Their salaries are paid entirely by U.S. and EU funds. Having failed to develop institutions that attract staff based on merit, the PA became a hotbed of corruption, kleptocracy and abuse of anyone who took issue with the official party line.


More than 80 percent of West Bank residents believe corruption at the PA is pervasive. In the 2006 general election, voters showed their disapproval of Fatah by giving Hamas a decisive victory. But after assuming power, Hamas adopted Fatah’s clientelist approach to politics.


The situation is much worse in Gaza than in the West Bank. Since 2007, Israel has applied a blockade on Gaza, where average Palestinians live in poverty while Hamas leaders live in luxury. For example, the wealth of former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Qatar, exceeds $2.5 billion. Hamas’ official annual revenue exceeds $700 million, but between 2007 and 2014, it operated a lucrative underground economy using tunnels that generated more than $7 billion, which it did not disclose. A few years ago, Hamas signed deals with former Soviet republics to purchase military hardware and smuggle it to Gaza. The sales did not go through, and the funds ended up in the personal foreign bank accounts of Hamas leaders.


Factionalism


Palestinians have lost faith in both Fatah and Hamas. Even Pakistan’s top foreign diplomat urged the leaders of both groups to put their differences aside and fight for the Palestinian people’s best interests. But divisions within the two groups are now also emerging.

Read the rest of the article at the link.

""Israel who has made many peace offers that the Palestinians end up refusing.""

I wouldn't buy into that, Israel making peace offerings is like Russia making peace offerings to Ukraine lol