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Can the Palestinian Authority Really Govern Gaza after the War?

(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have said that after the latest war, Gaza should be unified with the West Bank under a "revitalized" Palestinian Authority. Yet few people in the West Bank or Israel regard the PA as capable of governing a post-conflict Gaza. The PA is deeply unpopular even where it has control in the West Bank. It is run by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is now 88. Its support is so tenuous that it would be unlikely to survive without the security provided by the Israeli Army. In the view of many of the people it is supposed to represent, the PA has devolved into an authoritarian, corrupt and undemocratic administration. Restoring the PA's credibility, Palestinians and experts say, would require holding elections to form a new leadership. But if elections were held today, it is probable, experts and polls suggest, that Hamas would win. Even among a budding middle class that has grown up in the relative stability of the West Bank, there is little respect for the PA. With financial troubles and a reduced budget, it has already cut the salaries it pays by 30%. "How can they rule Gaza?" asked Iyad Masrouji, the chief executive of Jerusalem Pharmaceuticals. "The Americans talk with the rhetoric of 30 years ago, but we live in a different reality. If we had a fair election, Hamas would win, and more now." Palestinians in the West Bank have generally hailed Hamas for bringing the fate of Palestinians back into international focus. "From the Palestinian point of view, it looked like a miracle," said Sari Nusseibeh, former president of Al Quds University. "Fortress Israel suddenly seemed vulnerable. Who is the Palestinian leadership now? It's Hamas, like it or not." "At the moment Hamas is seen by Palestinians as the foremost representative of Palestinian interests because no one else is. The Palestinian Authority doesn't figure in people's minds," Nusseibeh said. Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki said 85% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign, including more than 60% of his own Fatah party. Could the PA in its current state take over Gaza? "Of course not," Shikaki said.
2023-11-26 00:00:00
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