Just 30 years after the Oslo Accords set the stage for the formation of the first autonomous Palestinian leadership body to be recognized by Israel, the Palestinian National Authority (PA) stands on the brink of collapse, with dwindling territorial control, deteriorating popular support and no clear successor for its aging longtime leader.
And while Israel has also played an influential role in cultivating the conditions that have undermined the West Bank-based government led by 87-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, deep uncertainties lie over what may come next for the peoples on both sides of a conflict that has commanded international attention for three quarters of a century.
"This is the worst point that I've seen the PA since its creation," Ghaith al-Omari, a former Palestinian National Authority official who previously served as an advisor to its negotiating team and is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, tells Newsweek.
"We often used to talk about the PA collapse as an abstract, a distant threat," he adds. "I think this is now a much more pressing concern. In many ways, we are witnessing the unraveling of the PA."
Should the PA collapse altogether, Omari predicts that, "at least for a couple generations, this will be the end of the Palestinian national movement."
With Despair Comes Death
Khaled Elgindy, also a former PA negotiations adviser who today serves as a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, agrees. With a growing gap between a fading generation of PLO founders and a rising population of disenfranchised Palestinians, Elgindy outlines a "kind of paradox, where everyone's uneasy about succession, but at the same time, the same people who are uneasy about succession are also uneasy about holding an election." Against this backdrop, Palestinians are increasingly losing hope that the PA will deliver upon its founding commitments.
Bu hikaye Newsweek US dergisinin October 06, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Newsweek US dergisinin October 06, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Terry Crews
FOR TERRY CREWS, THERE ARE NO RULES.
Carrie Coon
CARRIE COON IS HAVING A MOMENT, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT RECognize her.
Still Doin' It Well
Ahead of the release of his new album, The FORCE, LL Cool J told Newsweek of his strong desire to keep contributing to the hip-hop culture he helped create
WORLD'S MOST TRUSTWORTHY COMPANIES 2024
TRUST IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY RELATIONSHIP-FROM PERsonal relationships to ties between businesses and consumers.
HOPE and HEALING on HORSEBACK
IT'S BEEN A DECADE SINCE ISIS COMMITTED GENOCIDE AGAINST IRAQ'S YAZIDI POPULATION. MORE THAN 100,000 YAZIDIS REMAIN DISPLACED BUT WORKERS AND ANIMALS AT AN EQUINE THERAPY CENTER ARE PROVIDING RELIEF
Is College Worth It?
AMERICANS are LOSING FAITH in HIGHER EDUCATION amid RISING TUITION FEES, UNCERTAIN PAYOFF and CULTURE WARS on CAMPUS
An integrated model for water management
Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies has deep expertise and synergistic capabilities across the full water and wastewater value chain
Investments that are transforming life in Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Al Othaim Investment Company is creating distinctive destinations and experiences that encompass multiple sectors
A Kinder and Gentler Nick Cave
After a period of personal upheaval, the famed Bad Seeds singer returns with the vibrant and optimistic 'Wild God'
Fleeing War and Scams
Newsweek spoke to three Ukrainians who have been targeted by \"sponsors\" trying to profit from applicants seeking refuge in the U.S. via a humanitarian scheme