Throughout the ongoing war in Gaza, world leaders have been debating what the future would hold for the Gazans and what the Gaza Strip would look like in a post-Hamas world. The Biden administration has consistently said that some new form of government would be required, potentially under the leadership of a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority. This proposal has been rejected by most of the players, including the PA, which says it has no interest in taking responsibility for Gaza. But if they were to take over, what type of governance could we expect? We probably saw a hint in the response from the PA to the White House’s recent blessing of a newly formed PA government in the West Bank. The Palestinian General Intelligence Service immediately moved to issue cash grants to the families of three dozen PA actors who had been killed or imprisoned after participating in attacks on Israelis, describing them all as “martyrs.” And they used the money that we gave them to do it. (Free Beacon)
Days after the Biden administration gave its blessing to a newly formed Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank, the PA handed out dozens of bonus payments for security forces who were involved in attacks on Israelis.
According to the PA’s official news outlets, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service on April 4 provided a grant to 36 families of agency officials who died or were imprisoned as a result of their involvement in anti-Israel security crimes. The reports did not identify the recipients of the grant or its amount, but the purpose was clear.
“Service Director in Jenin Adnan Abu Aisheh said that the message of the service, under the instructions of its leader, Majed Faraj, is to emphasize what President Mahmoud Abbas has said again and again—that if we are left with one penny, it will be paid to the families of the martyrs and the prisoners,” reported the PA’s WAFA news agency and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida daily.
This is part of the “pay for slay” annual budget that the Palestinian Authority operates. They have never condemned the October 7 Hamas terror attacks against Israel and continue to set aside money to “reward” the families of any terrorists who are captured or killed while trying to exterminate the Jews. As noted above, this has long been the policy of Mahmoud Abbas and he has never wavered in that position. As soon as the Biden administration sent them some money, that’s where it went.
It’s not as if the PA has been trying to hide any of this or execute some sort of secret plan. They have their own news service that regularly puts out press releases and their policy has not changed. If anyone at the White House was surprised by this they either haven’t been paying attention or they are completely clueless. (More likely both.) Hamas and the PA may have had their ideological differences on some issues, but neither of them has ever been “pro-Israel.”
This is part of the fundamentally flawed position that the Biden administration and much of the West have taken when it comes to the future of the Middle East. They are trying to draw distinctions between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Hamas, and the supposed “civilians” in Gaza. There is no difference, at least in terms of any hopes for a peaceful resolution regarding Israel. They have all been brainwashed from the moment they were able to walk to believe that the Jews are evil monsters who need to be exterminated and it is their mission to accomplish that. The only reason the PA hasn’t been attacking Israel as much in recent years is that Israel has grown too militarily powerful and unwilling to sit there and be a target.
The PA almost certainly doesn’t care what Joe Biden’s opinion may be on the future of the Gaza Strip. Even if Israel manages to wipe out all of the Hamas military units entirely, there will still be several million Gazans left in the Strip. You can tell them to elect their own government and establish a “state,” but they’re only going to promote some new version of Hamas. That’s who they voted for the last time they were given a chance. And in the meantime, they will expect Israel to resume supplying them with all of the food, water, energy, and medical supplies that they require while they plot their next attack. If there is a long-term, peaceful solution to this situation, I certainly can’t imagine what it would look like.