After her credibility has receded among her people
The Palestinian Authority is facing unprecedented protest conditions
The Palestinian demonstrators changed their slogans and demanded that Abbas leave.
AFP
Abbas canceled the elections that were scheduled for last May in Palestine for flimsy reasons.
AFP
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The killing or “assassination” of the Palestinian activist, Nizar Banat, as some Palestinian rights groups call it, is a common behavior for the security of the Palestinian Authority, as well as torture in the Authority’s prisons. It is a familiar way to extract confessions from Palestinians. Palestinian political prisoners in the Palestinian Authority are usually divided into Two main groups: activists whom Israel suspects of being involved in activities against it, and others who are arrested for criticizing the corruption of the Palestinian Authority.
In 2018, Human Rights Watch spoke about the arrest of dozens of Palestinians by the Palestinian Authority, as a result of those criticizing it on social media, and (daughters) was one of them, as the recordings and criticisms he published on social media led to exposing President Mahmoud Abbas’s leadership embarrassed the Palestinian Authority and his leadership of the “Fatah” movement. Unlike the others, (girls) mentioned the names and called for strong measures against those who squander the Palestinian people’s money and betray their causes. The Palestinian Authority police have arrested (girls) several times in the past.
Latest campaigns
His last campaign on social media was related to an expired Corona vaccine, which the authority purchased from Israel on June 18, and as a result of pressure from activists such as (girls), the authority was forced to return the vaccine to Israel.
And when the men of power entered the house of (girls) by force on June 24, they used unprecedented violence, as 25 security men stormed the house, and beat (girls) with iron and wood batons, and after they stripped him of all his clothes, they took him outside, and after About an hour and a half later, his family learned that he had died through a WhatsApp message.
Although initially rejected, the authority admitted, under pressure from thousands of protesters in the West Bank, that (girls) had died in an “unnatural” manner, and the Palestinian Minister of Justice, Muhammad al-Shalaldeh, said that he died as a result of physical violence.
This recognition shows that the Palestinian Authority is ready to take responsibility for its actions, but this is not true, because the authority simply did not admit its responsibility for previous acts of violence, and secondly, violence is the backbone of the authority’s existence. The arbitrary arrests, torture and repression of peaceful demonstrators are synonymous with the security of the Authority, This was also demonstrated by many reports published by human rights organizations, both in Palestine and the world.
Accordingly, is it true that the days of the Palestinian Authority are numbered?
To consider this question it is important to examine the rationale behind the existence of power, and compare it to what happened in the following years.
The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, as a transitional national authority that aims to lead the Palestinian people towards the stage of statehood by 1999, but this did not materialize, but the authority has been working on security coordination with the Israelis, and since the large protests last May, the official discourse of the authority has become in a state Confused, the PA leaders, including Abbas, tried to present themselves as revolutionary leaders, talking about resistance and martyrdom, while at the same time they were renewing their commitment to the dead peace process and the American agenda in Palestine.
violence
When Washington resumed providing assistance to the Authority, after stopping during the administration of former President Donald Trump, the Authority preferred to maintain the status quo, where relative stability and the availability of funds, but the Palestinian people staged large demonstrations, which prompted the Authority to confront it with violence throughout the West Bank.
Even the slogans launched by the Palestinians changed. Following the killing of (girls), the demonstrators in the West Bank called on Abbas (85 years) to leave office, and described his security policy as “thuggery” and “slander.”
This change in the rhetoric of the Palestinian demonstrators indicates a change in the relationship between ordinary Palestinians and their corrupt leadership. It is important to note that this Palestinian Authority does not enjoy an ounce of democratic credibility. On April 30, Abbas canceled the general elections that were scheduled to be held in Palestine in May, Relying on flimsy excuses.
The Palestinian Authority has proven at this stage that it has become an obstacle to the freedom of the Palestinian people, and it does not enjoy any credibility among the Palestinians, and it clings to power because the United States and Israel support it, and whether the days of this authority are numbered or not, depends on the extent to which the Palestinian people prove that their will Collectivism is stronger than authority, and historical experience has taught us that it is the Palestinian people who will win in the end.
• Unlike the others, Nizar Banat mentioned the names, and called for taking strong measures against those who squander the Palestinian people's money and betray their causes, and the Palestinian Authority police arrested him several times in the past.
• The arbitrary arrests, torture and repression of peaceful demonstrators are synonymous with the security of the authority, as shown by many reports published by human rights organizations, whether in Palestine or the world.
Ramzi Baroud - Editor-in-chief of the newspaper "The Palestinian Chronicle"
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