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Palestinian Authoritarianism Has Its Roots in the Oslo Accords
(Al Jazeera) Yara Hawari - What the Palestinians got out of the Oslo Accords was a rather pernicious form of Palestinian authoritarianism. One of the terms of the agreement was that the exiled leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) would be allowed to return to the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian Authority, made up of members of Arafat's party, Fatah, assumed responsibility for the affairs of the Palestinian people. With the backing of the international community, Arafat pursued governance based on patronage and corruption that had little tolerance for internal dissent. Arafat's successor, President Mahmoud Abbas, continued down the same path. Abbas has also been working hard to erode any democratic spaces in the West Bank. He rules by decree. He has merged all three branches of government - the legislative, executive and judiciary - so that there are no checks on his power. Last year he dissolved the Doctors' Syndicate after medical personnel went on strike. He created the Supreme Council of Judicial Bodies and Authorities and appointed himself the head of it, thus consolidating his power over the courts and the Ministry of Justice. The internationally funded and trained PA security sector employs 50% percent of civil servants and takes 30% of the total PA budget - more than education, health and agriculture combined. It is responsible for a monumental amount of human rights abuses, including the arrest of activists, the harassment of journalists, and the torture of political detainees. The writer is a policy fellow of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.