Fatah, the main actor leading the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, is making great efforts to maintain its legitimacy on the Palestinian street.
That is especially true amid its forces’ ongoing operation against armed factions in the Jenin refugee camp who are affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The rare operation, taking place undoubtedly under an Israeli green light, is currently entering its third week. As part of the operation, hundreds of PA security forces are operating against dozens of terrorists affiliated with Islamic Jihad, specifically in the Jenin refugee camp.
Dozens of suspects have been arrested, and explosives and weapons have been confiscated and neutralized. Several officers from the PA security apparatus were also killed during the armed clashes.
Terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), have called on Palestinians to “mobilize in large numbers” to confront the PA security forces.
According to a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and published in June, 54% of Palestinians said they favored armed struggle against Israel, and 40% of them supported Hamas, while 20% supported Fatah. More than 60% of the respondents said they supported the dissolution of the PA, and nearly 90% said they wanted PA President Mahmoud Abbas to resign.
During the period before the signing of the Oslo Accords, and certainly after the signing of the agreements, Fatah’s dovish wing has been consistently challenged both by its hawkish wing and other terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP, which have sought to thwart the process of dialogue with Israel at all costs.
Despite the PA’s centralized rule throughout most of the West Bank, and with its Fatah faction taking a leading role, the calls for armed struggle against Israel enjoy broad support in the Palestinian street and even within Fatah’s own ranks. Therefore, those who oppose the current operation seek to paint the PA as a collaborator with Israel and even as a doer of its bidding.
Efforts at reestablishing legitimacy
Faced with this delegitimization, Fatah is making great efforts to reestablish its legitimacy among the Palestinian street, including advocacy videos of women handing out flowers to members of the PA security forces and thanking them for “defending them,” and images of tribal dignitaries in Hebron, many of whose residents clearly identify with Hamas, holding Fatah flags.
The movement also organizes demonstrations of strength, with its iconic yellow flags, and has its activists and supporters put posts on social media that say Fatah and the PA are the “only Palestinian legitimacy.”
These efforts are very noticeable and clearly indicate Fatah’s fear of losing its grip on the Palestinian street, due to what might be perceived as aligning itself with Israel in the war against Palestinian terrorists.
The PA’s intention to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts – after accusing the Qatari news channel of “inciting” coverage against its security apparatus – must also be understood in this context.
Fatah even sent a letter to Al Jazeera’s employees in the West Bank, urging them to leave the “partisan” channel that “destroyed the Arab world... and spreads lies in the media space while supporting lawless people” – all of this as part of an attempt to combat the poor image that has tarnished the veteran Palestinian organization.
As opposed to the now banal infighting between the PA and Hamas, the PA’s adversaries in its current campaign are Islamic Jihad, a designated Palestinian terrorist organization inspired by the Khomeini revolution in Iran, which boasts tense relations with both Hamas and the PA for varying reasons.
Islamic Jihad is responsible for dozens of terrorist attacks over the years, and it even took an active part in the October 7 massacre and apparently still holds Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.
The armed factions oppose the PA’s rule and its fight against them. Abbas has spoken positively on several occasions in the past regarding security coordination with Israel, even calling it “sacred.” The statement has sparked ridicule and sharp criticism from his opponents.
Even now, those opposing the PA’s current operation refer mockingly to their security forces as the “Spy Authority” or the “Dayton Apparatus,” which is named after Keith Dayton, a former US general who helped establish and develop the PA’s security forces.
The current battles between the PA security forces and the armed terrorist groups should be understood against the background of this constant tension and also the question of the “day after the war,” which is deemed more and more relevant as a ceasefire deal nears.
Through carrying out this operation with this specific timing, it is plausible that Abbas is trying to prove to the world, to Israel, and to the incoming US administration that his ability to impose order by force remains intact, perhaps as a signal of his intentions in the Gaza Strip.
Nevertheless, judging by the impact on social media, the impression that emerges is that despite these great efforts led by Fatah, its attempts to improve the PA’s image are not particularly successful, and any action against Palestinian groups that engage in armed struggle seems to actually strengthen them even more – maybe even at the expense of Fatah.
Fatah leader Abbas, who has been acting as PA chairman for almost two decades, will celebrate his 90th birthday in less than a year. Judging by the discussed polls and online trends, leaders of Fatah should perhaps be asking themselves not only what will happen in Gaza on the day after Hamas, but rather what will happen in the West Bank ahead of the day after Abbas.