The president's trembling hand and the helplessness of the factions

author

Amer Abu Shabab

The decree to postpone the elections, months after the decision to hold them, showed the extent of the “confusion” among the leadership of the Authority and the PLO, amounting to political “panic” in the face of the developments that followed the October 7, 2023 suicide attack, and the horror of the Israeli occupation government crossing all red lines in managing the conflict and accelerating the pace of liquidating the Palestinian issue.

In addition to the developments of the American-Israeli war on Iran and its repercussions in the Gulf, the region, and the world, the results of all of the above have made the world preoccupied with the economy, oil, and maritime shipping lanes, and before everyone’s eyes is the fate of the president of Venezuela, Iran’s guide, and its military leadership.

Frankly, let me say that the leadership of the Authority and the PLO do not trust the factions and do not trust the Palestinian people who are exhausted to the point of death and hunger in Gaza, and their “terrified” brother in the West Bank due to the unprecedented Israeli attacks on people and land, the economic blockade of components of the private sector, and the deprivation of the government of clearing funds - and the opposite is also true - the factions do not trust the Authority nor the people, who are also frustrated with everyone, and even resentful of them.

Clearly, the state of political “weakness and fragility” in which the closed political command room is experiencing pushes it into a hesitation that may lead to its fate, and undermine the political legitimacy that it gained due to the “committed student” policy, which achieved symbolic international recognitions that do not carry any political pressure tools to curb the aggressive and unruly Israeli behavior.

Before the “cancelled” election decree, the Fatah movement pushed members of the Central Committee to the streets in the West Bank, led by Central Committee member and Intelligence Director Major General Majid Faraj and his companions to lead the electoral campaign with the aim of making the election option a popular, legal and international arena of struggle for political clash with the occupation, but the hesitation was greater than the “expensive” initiative.

True... the calculations are complex and the waves are high, but it is a test hour for the ability of the Palestinian “political whole”, from the organization to the factions, to prove their “national ability” to manage the Palestinian situation towards “minimum losses”.

The previous dream that runs through the mind and heart of every Palestinian, of the existence of a unified leadership with realistic practical goals and struggle tools within the great national project, is far from reality, despite the sea of ​​blood and suffering in Gaza, and the flood of fear and frustration in the West Bank. Despite all of the above, the “leaders” were unable to agree on a unified program and a map of collective struggle that maintains steadfastness and survival and lays the foundation for the future and generations.

During the year, the gap between the postponement of the elections and their “expected” holding, there were all promises for comprehensive reconciliation and all initiatives for a serious and fruitful national dialogue. You will not correct this false path of dialogue and political partnership, which will increase the gap between the people and their leaders.

It is a moment of exposure in which the nakedness of the main forces is revealed, represented by the new Central Committee of the Fatah movement, the new political bureau of the Hamas movement, and to their right and left, a group of factions whose popular and political weight no one knows.

The president's trembling hand, the inability of the factions, the absence of political elites, the unprecedented popular frustration, and the state of distrust are a prelude to the collapse of the existing political structures and a descent for everyone into the abyss, and at the same time represent a suitable space for the Israeli hegemonic project based on force and the world's preoccupation.

We need a new title, a new discourse, and a clear and practical program that recognizes the “challenges and opportunities,” gains the trust of society, and expresses them clearly. Most importantly, it should break with the structures and components of the previous stage, while paying great attention to drawing lessons from its experiences.