The Future of the Palestinian Authority

Abstract

The Oslo Agreement signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1993 created indirect control over the Palestinians, a better and cheaper strategy than direct control, where the Israeli government transferred administrative and security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Gaza and the West Bank. Some Palestinian politicians and scholars consider the direct coordination and cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security forces as an Israeli vision that was adopted in the peace agreements to perpetuate the occupation. However, others believe the PA to be the administrative basis of a future Palestinian state. Without evidence of existential progress toward this goal, many have begun to question the need for the Authority, which has failed to carry out national tasks. Currently, the PA appears to be in an existential crisis. The Palestinians are increasingly criticising it, and many have sought to distance themselves from government involvement in local affairs. Moreover, some of its leaders have called for its dissolution. The PA is encircled by Israeli concerns and problematic and overlapping Palestinian partisan interests. This research gives an explanation of the future scenarios of the PA two decades after its establishment, and explores the possibility of redefining its role, taking into account the significant developments in the Palestinian new status at the UN, Palestinian reconciliation, and the efforts to revive and rebuild the PLO.