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The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, has rejected an Israeli offer of measures to bolster the PA, instead vowing to continue sending payments to the families of terrorists – stating that: “even if we have only a penny left, we will give it to the martyrs, the prisoners, and their families”. These remarks echo Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, who uttered this exact statement in 2018.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has also committed to continue the PA’s legal-diplomatic efforts against Israel in international fora, insisting that “halting our measures in international fora won’t happen”.
The PA rejected a series of new measures by Israel’s security cabinet, including the development of a new industrial zone in Tarqumiyah, southern West Bank, a new natural gas field off Gaza and an extension of hours at the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Jordan – for the benefit of Palestinians. Israel had also pledged to restore freedom of movement permits for PA officials which were cancelled by Israel in January following a Palestinian resolution submitted to the UN General Assembly which called for an International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the legal status of Israel’s presence in the West Bank and the consequences arising from it.
In exchange, Israel had hoped to end the PA’s payments to the families of terrorists, media and educational incitement and legal-diplomatic activities.
The measures were also intended to counter Iran’s growing influence in the West Bank and in the aftermath of ‘Operation House and Garden’ – a major counterterror operation in Jenin last week to root out the Tehran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad and its local branch, the Jenin Brigade. The PA’s complete loss of control in cities like Jenin has resulted in the dramatic expansion of Palestinian terror groups.
After rejecting Israel’s offer, PA President Mahmoud Abbas visited Jenin with Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and other senior Palestinian officials to lay a wreath at the graves of the Palestinian combatants killed last week. It marked Abbas’ first visit since 2012.
The simultaneous moves may be to regain popularity, as the PA are increasingly seen as corrupt collaborators of Israel by the Palestinian people, leading to senior officials being hounded out of funeral processions earlier in the week.
The PA’s recent arrest of a journalist, activist, charity director linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad and two Palestinian militants who had spent 10 years in Israeli prisons for terror-related activities, underscore its attempt to regain a foothold with the population.
“I do not trust Hamas to have even one single weapon”, Jenin Governor Akram Rajoub stated, “because it might use [the weapons] against me tomorrow”. Recalling Hamas’ takeover of Gaza in 2007, he added that “Hamas killed all the people who helped them during the coup”. A Palestinian Authority video has also been released denouncing Hamas for their leaders’ lavish lifestyle and the groups’ human rights record in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Jenin reconstruction has been pegged at $15 million, with the UAE pledging that alone. Algeria has promised an additional $30 million and more donations are expected from Qatar and other Arab states. Some Palestinians have called for transparency mechanisms amid fears that the funds may syphoned away for PA officials and will not reach ordinary Palestinians on the ground.
