A recent report by the Palestinian Media Watch is a research institute warned this week that in all likelihood, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas it turning the PA into a dictatorship. This was puzzling the Palestinian Authority, which was established about three decades ago, never pretended to be a democracy.
Democracy can exist in a state or a strong autonomous entity, where there is a separation of powers – something that does not exit in the PA. The struggle between Fatah, the ruling party, and rivals the Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Hamas, is open and has been that way from the first day when a Palestinian policemen were given weapons and the authority to roam the streets of Palestinian cities, including in Gaza.
Formed by the power of the 1993 Oslo Accords, with international guarantees and Israel's support, the Palestinian Authority cannot be seen as the basis for a democratic regime, chiefly over the lack of a functioning parliament comprising elected officials and the glaring absence of an independent judiciary.
Palestinian statehood aspiration and relations with Israel aside, the situation in the PA is dire. The Ramallah regime is mired in corruption and nepotism – a hallmark of totalitarian regimes. Fatah functionaries brutally fight anyone who goes up against them – on anything – and often violate human rights.
Opposition members who expose corruption on speak out against Abbas have paid with their lives for it, as was in the case of Nizar Banat, who died in Palestinian security forces' custody in June 2021 and to this day no inquest has been launched into his death despite public demand.
The corruption and menacing by Fatah officials who take down anyone who dares speak out against the PA now prevent local and international human rights groups from operating on the ground. The judiciary is controlled by Ramallah officials, the media cowers before the regime and will not criticize it, and those who do are silenced using the excuse of "the fight against Israeli occupation."
The Palestinian street is furious – not more than ever. Under these circumstances, it is only a matter of time before the younger generation revolt against the regime.
