Palestine and the road to dictatorship

Translation -
By Jerusalem News Network
Our correspondent: More than 20 patrols belonging to the Palestinian National Security Force has raided the refugee camp of Balata to the East of Nablus to implement a security campaign against two wanted criminals.
There have been clashes and the firing of gas grenades in the middle of the refugee camp
Published 27th Oct 2014


This is significant as I I have written before on the Palestinian Authority and the potential for it to become a dictatorship because of Israeli and general Western influence. It is no secret that this security force works with the Israeli occupation, but here is what I have written previously:

The act of calling something moderate and making people view it as moderate sets certain parameters within a situation. This can help a group of people develop general principles that they all share in terms of ideas, solutions and so on. But it can also restrict the ideas that can be discussed and, as in the case with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, it can also turn quite oppressive.

The Palestinian Authority can be viewed as moderate in their recognition of the state of Israel, for example. Another example is when Mahmoud Abbas, in a meeting in Lebanon, stated that armed resistance is wrong[1]. But who gets to decide what is moderate and what is not? Who gets to set the parameters for the acceptable and the unacceptable? The answer simply lies with who the most powerful or significant player is - and it is Israel.

It is in the interest of Mahmoud Abbas to try and resist, in some sort of way, the Israeli occupation and create a Palestinian state as that is what his people want. But it is also in his interest to listen to what Israel says, as they are the ones who collect and give him the tax money on his behalf; tax money used to pay salaries to everyone working under the Palestinian Authority. They are also the world’s fourth most powerful military on his doorstep. So one has to respect that Mahmoud Abbas has to walk a very fine line between the two sides.

These security forces, which now have a special operations unit, are funded by Western donors and trained by ex-US Lieutenant Keith Dayton [2] follow this discourse loyally. The Palestinian Authority are the moderates and anything else is a danger. Of course, the prevention of loss of life is important, but there are also many reports ( [2] ) that show the increasing brutality of this Security Force.

In establishing the discourse of who is moderate in the West Bank, and in desperately trying to keep those “moderates” in power there could be a slippery slope towards a “father knows best state” riddled with repression, as well as an eventual blow back effect of extremism. Especially with a stalled peace process. This is a classic example of an Arab dictatorship’s security apparatus being funded/trained by a Western nation (Iraq had that in the 1980s, Jordan, Egypt in the past.)

Mahmoud Abbas has to walk a fine line, but how long can he keep his balance before tipping towards one way or the other for the “ultimate good”?

[1] -  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/palestine-abbas-oppose-armed-resistance-israel.html#

[2] -  http://electronicintifada.net/content/repressive-pa-police-trained-equipped-western-donors/11473