Two separate incidents that took place in the West Bank over the past few days underlined the discrepancy between the Palestinian Authority’s rhetoric in public and its actions on the ground.
“The Palestinian Authority is a real Jekyll and Hyde,” a Ramallah-based Western diplomat remarked this week with reference to the inconsistency. “The Palestinian Authority’s rhetoric towards Israel is bad, but its actions on the ground, especially the security coordination with the Israeli security authorities, are good.”
The diplomat’s remark is shared by many Palestinians who are familiar with the inner workings of the PA.
In the first incident, two Israeli women in their 40s were spotted by Palestinians late at night driving their car alone inside al-Ama’ri refugee camp at the entrance to Ramallah and its twin city, El-Bireh.
The camp is considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants belonging to various groups, including those opposed to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah faction.
The PA security forces are often reluctant to enter al-Ama’ri to avoid friction with the groups. In this case, however, as soon as the PA security forces were informed about the presence of the Israeli women in the camp, they rushed to the scene and safely escorted them out and handed them over to the IDF.
The second incident took place in the PA-controlled part of Hebron, a city traditionally known as a stronghold of Islamist groups, particularly Hamas and Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation). A bus carrying IDF soldiers that accidentally entered Hebron was safely escorted by PA security forces out of the city. No one was hurt and minimal damage was caused to the bus as a result of rock-throwing by a small number of Palestinians.
The two incidents could have ended in a tragic way, were it not for the intervention of the PA security forces. Had any of the women or soldiers been harmed, this would have resulted in a serious deterioration in the security situation on the ground and renewed tensions between the new Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the PA.
Such an escalation would also have dealt a severe blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to rebuild confidence between Israel and the Palestinians with the hope of reviving the stalled peace process.
The Biden administration has endorsed a policy that seeks to bolster the standing of the PA as a way of countering the rising popularity of Hamas. The Americans want the Israeli government to follow suit by engaging with PA officials and refraining from unilateral moves, including the eviction of Arab families from their homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Indeed, Bennett’s government and the PA leadership appear to be moving toward some form of rapprochement. In addition to the continuing security coordination, Israeli and PA ministers recently met for the first time in several years.
Moreover, the government has agreed to increase the number of permits for Palestinians who wish to work in Israel, and, according to Palestinian sources, senior PA officials whose VIP cards were confiscated by the previous government of Benjamin Netanyahu have gotten them back.
Some Palestinians maintain that the security coordination between the PA security forces and the IDF never stopped, not even when Abbas and other Palestinian institutions claimed that they had suspended all ties with Israel, including in the security field.
The incidents in Ramallah and Hebron were not the first of their kind. Several cases involving Israeli (Jewish) citizens who were seen by the Palestinians inside Area A of the West Bank have been returned safely to Israel, thanks to the efforts of the PA security forces.
Entry into this area, which is controlled exclusively by the PA, is forbidden to all Israeli citizens. Israel, however, does not stop Arab-Israelis from entering Area A.
Most of the cases involving Israelis caught in Area A are not publicized, probably in order to avoid embarrassing the PA. Each time Palestinians learn that the PA security forces “rescued” Israeli citizens caught in Area A, they accuse the Palestinian leadership of “collaboration” and serving as “subcontractors” for the Israeli security establishment.
But the security coordination is not a one-way relationship benefiting Israel alone.
Abbas was quoted a few years ago as telling a group of Israelis who visited him at the Mukata presidential compound in Ramallah that security coordination [with Israel] is “sacred.”
Although Abbas did not elaborate, it’s obvious that the Palestinians, too, enjoy the fruits of this coordination.
First, the PA and Israel have a common enemy in the West Bank – Hamas. Abbas is well aware that without Israel’s security presence in the West Bank, Hamas and another Iranian-backed proxy, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, would pose a direct threat to the PA.
Second, the security coordination ensures the continued flow of funds to the PA from the Americans, Europeans and other international parties.
In a bid to further curry favor with the Western donors, including the Biden administration, Abbas and senior PA officials have recently indicated their readiness to return to the negotiating table with Israel under the auspices of the Quartet members – US, European Union, United Nations, and Russia. PA officials who are talking about their dissatisfaction with the Bennett government are actually sending a message to the Biden administration that it needs to get more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
YET WHILE Palestinian security officers are “rescuing” Israelis who accidentally enter Area A, and as the security coordination appears to be continuing in full force and effect, the rhetoric of the PA and Fatah toward Israel remains as toxic as ever.
This is precisely why many Palestinians and Israelis are confused about the real intentions of the PA leadership.
On the one hand, the PA is telling Palestinians that it wants to prosecute Israelis for “war crimes” and “ethnic cleansing” before international forums, including the International Criminal Court. The PA is also telling Palestinians that there is no difference between the Bennett government and the Netanyahu government, especially regarding the policy of settlement construction and the “Judaization” of Jerusalem.
On the other hand, this is the same PA that is allowing its ministers and security officials to hold meetings with their Israeli counterparts.
Similarly, many in Israel still cannot figure out whether the PA is an ally or an enemy. The PA’s deeds and rhetoric suggest that it is both an ally and an enemy. It is an ally when it comes to working with the IDF in maintaining security and stability in the West Bank. It is an enemy when it comes to the fiery rhetoric of PA officials and media outlets.
“The Palestinian Authority has always excelled in sending conflicting messages to both the Palestinians and the Israelis,” remarked a veteran Palestinian journalist from Ramallah. “The Palestinians have long become used to the duplicity of the Palestinian leadership.”
The PA’s actions on the ground may be good for Israel in the short term. These actions place the PA on the side of the good guys in the war on terrorism. In the long run, however, the anti-Israel rhetoric emerging from Ramallah is further radicalizing Palestinians. The PA, in other words, is driving more Palestinians into the welcoming arms of its own rivals, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The apparent rapprochement between the PA and the Israeli government and the Biden administration’s policy of “strengthening” the PA are critical for the continued survival of Abbas and his cohorts. But this approach comes with a cost. The closer Abbas moves toward Israel and the US, the more he loses points with the Palestinian street.
The Bennett government and the Biden administration may help the 85-year-old Abbas hold on to power, but there’s nothing the Israelis and Americans can do to help him regain the confidence of his people.
Abbas’s decision to cancel the parliamentary election, which was supposed to take place on May 22, and the recent unprecedented massive security crackdown on Palestinian political activists, journalists and social media users have severely undermined the credibility of the PA leadership.
At this stage, it’s clear that the widespread discontent with the Ramallah-based leadership does not pose an imminent threat to the PA. The PA security forces remain loyal to Abbas, and the number of people willing to take to the streets to demand “regime change” is declining every week.
If and when the peace talks with Israel resume, Abbas is sure to face a radical reaction from the Palestinians. Under the current circumstances, the likelihood of marketing any agreement with Israel to the Palestinian public is zero.
This statistical nonstarter is the direct result of the PA’s decades-long demonization of Israel, which remains one of the major obstacles to moving forward with any peace process.