Palestinian Authority

(The neutrality of this article is disputed.)

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. The Palestinian Authority has control over both security-related and civlian issues in Palestinian urban areas (called in Oslo accords "Area A"), and civilian control over Palestinian rural areas ("Area B").

The Oslo accords did not explicitly deal with the future of the PA, but there was an unwritten understanding on both sides that it would become the basis of an independent Palestinian state in the process of the final settlement.

The Palestinian Authority enjoys so far an international recognition as the organization representing the Palestinian people (albeit a limited one). It has an observer status in the United Nations, and receives considerable funds as aid from the European Union, the United States and Israel. The Gaza International Airport was built by the PA near Gaza, but operated for only a brief period before being shut down by Israel, following the outbreak of Palestinian violence against Israel in 2001. A sea port was being constructed in Gaza (see below).

The PA maintains a 45,000-man uniformed organization employing armored cars and whose members carry automatic weapons. Officially termed a "police force", it is in reality something in between a militia and an army. In violation of the Oslo Accords, it is about 3 times the size permitted.

Many Palestinians are dependent on access to the Israeli job market. During the 1990s, Israel however began to replace Palestinians with foreign guest workers. They were found to be economical and also were useful as a means limiting dependence on Palestinians as a source of cheap labor due to security concerns. This hurt the Palestinian economy, and reduced the popularity of the PA.

Internal structure

A single general election took place in 1994.

The Palestinian Authority has historically been associated with the PLO, with whom Israel negotiated in the Oslo accords; as such, it has been headed so far by Yasser Arafat, and manned almost exclusively by PLO officials, most of them locals who have participated in the Tanzim (Operations), PLO's militant branch established for the First Intifada.

In 2003, Arafat gave in to international pressure, and appointed Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as "prime minister" of the PA. Both Israel and the US refuse to negotiate deals with Arafat, whom they regard as linked to terrorists. Arafat is leader of the PLO, regarded by some Western analysts as a "terrorist" group despite its observer status at the United Nations.

Arafat's administration is characterized by the lack of democracy, by the wide-spread corruption among officials, and the division of power among families and among the numerous governmental agencies with overlapping functions. Thus, Yasser Arafat controls through various mechanisms no less than 8 distinct security organizations, and his education ministry boosts more than 20 chairmen. After a single round of elections in 1996, which he won by a land-slide, Arafat cancelled elections for an indefinite period; some would claim that the resulting structure bears a strong resemblance to the dictatorial Middle Eastern regimes, implementing the mantra: "one man, one vote, once."

In spite of attempts to pre-empt the PLO (and Arafat personally) from the West Bank and Gaza in the 1970s and the 1980s, both the Western powers and Israel have decided by the time of the Oslo Accords that Arafat's presence would be the least of evils, providing a certain degree of stability and keeping at bay the influence of Islamists (Islamic fundamentalists). Following the Second Intifada (below), both American and Israeli leaders declared they lost trust in Arafat as a source of stability. This began a push for change in the Palestinian leadership. Democratization is held to be the optimal way to achieve such a change, although it is unlikely to take place with PLO men in positions of power.

Overall, the divide et impera scheme implemented by Arafat personally, guarantees that in the atmosphere of power-struggle forever present in the Authority, he will always be able to control the antagonists by pushing them down with the help of his comrades; an added value is that he is able to create a smoke-screen over his actions, by asking his subordinates for something, and then at worst claiming that they did so spontaneously, as a part of their struggle with their comrades. Members of the hierarchy are encouraged for their membership via the distribution of power, goods and means of income (such as controlling the taxation of some kind of activities).

While granting the above-mentioned advantages, this scheme also means that Arafat's overall control is diminished, parts of it being split among his subordinates. This in turn means that he is less able to cope with non-PLO organizations, mainly the Islamic militant movements Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. While on the street, PLO and the movements are often at odds, there's a higher-order relationship among them when it comes to external affairs, in which Arafat gets to regulate the movements' activities (in particular, violence against Israel), for the sake of what he calls "Palestinian national interest", in return for protecting them. However, the Islamic movements do enjoy a great degree of independence when it comes to internal affairs, and so after Arafat's demise as the oracle of this "national interest", they may become openly hostile to the PLO.

Current events

Since the beginning of the Second Intifada, a growing number of Palestinians have stopped accepting the Palestinian Authority as a representative of the Palestinian people. Some claim that has become a tool of the Israeli government, and that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad represents the Palestinian interest more loyally. However, polls indicate that the Israeli attack on the West Bank since the spring of 2002 has strengthened the standing of Arafat among the Palestinian people.

Israel, on the other hand, has accusted the Palestinian Authority of ignoring and covertly sponsoring the waves of violence towards the Israelis. Israeli experts claim that Arafat specifically intended to lose authority in favor of the Islamic movements, so that he could still use terrorism without actually controlling it. The prolonged support and participation of his own private militia, the Fatah, in terrorist attacks, reinforces that claim. This view has been officially accepted by the United States in summer 2002, which decided then to halt most sorts of negotiations with the current Palestinian authority, pending a fundamental organizational change. The non-governmental American Council on Foreign Relations has declared the Palestinian Authority under Arafat a haven for terrorism.

During the Intifada, Israel has often targeted Palestinian Authority personnel and resources, whom they accuse of harboring terror. In particular, many of the people arrested, assassinated or killed in action because of their terrorist activities were employees of the Palestinian authority's security forces or militias. In Operation Defensive Shield Israel has captured documents that allegedly prove that the Palestinian Authority officially sponsors terrorist activities, which are carried out by its personnel as "shadow jobs". For instance, Israel Marwan Barghouti, a prominent leader of Fatah, for his role as leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

Israel has also targeted Palestinian Authority infrastructure; in particular it has closed and destroyed parts of the Palestinian sea and air ports, that were used, as it claimed, to transport terrorists and their equipment. Israel's incursions during the Intifada also led to damage to some of the Palestinian computer infrastructure, though it is not clear to what extent it was deliberate.

These moves were criticized by the Palestinians, who claim that the Palestinian Authority is nearing collapse, and is no longer able to carry out its internal and external obligations. Israel claims that that the current Palestinian Authority is fradulent and impossible to trust, and hence no longer relevant to achieving a future peace agreement.

Due to heavy Israeli, American and European pressure, Arafat has recently declared a series of reforms that would perhaps also include carrying out elections in early 2003. Most experts, however, find that these reforms will not be able to significantly change the above-described state of the Authority, if solely done from within.

Financial Irregularities

In February, 2004, it was reported that the European Union (EU) anti-fraud office (OLAF) is studying documents suggesting that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority diverted tens of millions of dollars in EU funds to organizations involved in terrorist attacks, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Its final report is expected in 2004.

A separate EU "Working Group" has issued a report in April 2004, adopted by a 7-6 vote, which covers the period from the end of 2000 to the end of 2002, states that EU aid has not been siphoned off to Palestinian militants carrying out attacks on Israelis: "There is no conclusive evidence, to date, that the EU non-targeted direct budgetary support was used to finance illegal activities, including the financing of terrorism". British European Parliament Member Charles Tannock, who was part of the probe, describes the report as "a partial whitewash." "The Working Group Majority Report has chosen to ignore signed payment orders by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to the tune of $39,000 to people linked to terrorist activities or their families on the basis that these are circumstantial evidence only and do not prove anything, as payment cannot actually have been shown to have taken place"

The EU has changed the way it funded the Palestinians and now targeted aid for specific purposes. From April 2003, money is only handed over if various conditions are met, such as the presentation of invoices for bills the Palestinians need to pay. The EU remains the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority.

In April 2004, it was claimed in an Israeli newspaper that General Haj Ismail Jabber, commander of the Palestinian Authority's National Security force, considered the largest of the Palestinian security forces, has been collecting the salaries for 37,000 members when the force has only 30,000. The General has been pocketing the difference of $2 million each month. Furthermore, the General has been receiving the salaries based upon the international currency exchange rate of 4.5/US dollar and paying the force members at the exchange rate of 3.7/US dollar, resulting in a additional $500,000 for the General each month. [1]

Failure to Protect Holy Sites

The Abraham's Oak "Holy Trinity" Monastery located in Hebron belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church was seized on July 5, 1997 by Palestinian Authority policemen who physically removed the monks and nuns. Several of the monks and nuns required hospitalization.
"As Palestinian troops stood by, some shooting in the air to express their own the joy, hundreds of Palestinian men set upon the shrine with pick axes and crowbars while black smoke billowed from the charred structure. Raising a Palestinian flag, the Palestinians said that they were destroying Joseph's Tomb to ensure that the Israelis never returned."—The New York Times, October 7, 2000, Barak Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Arafat By Deborah Sontag
The Palestinian Authority has allowed Palestinian gunmen to use The Church of Saint Nicholas in Beit Jalla as firebase for shooting attacks on the Israeli community Gilo.
Palestinian gunmen forced their into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and damaged the building during their stay therein. [2]
The 1000-year-old synagogue near Jericho, entrusted to the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo agreement, has been burned and razed.

See also

Internal structure

Current events

Financial Irregularities

Failure to Protect Holy Sites

External links