The Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decided on the 9th to terminate the implementation of the obligations of the PLO and the Palestinian National Authority in the agreements signed with Israel and to suspend the recognition of the State of Israel.
Analysts pointed out that in the context of the gradual withdrawal of the United States from the Middle East, the continuous improvement of Arab relations with Israel, and the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, the PLO's move is really helpless, and its purpose is to attract more attention from the international community on regional issues.
In the West Bank city of Nablus on February 8, people gather at the car of three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
Helpless
Recently, there have been ongoing clashes between the Palestinian population and the Israeli army over Jewish settlements. There are weekly protests against settlements in the West Bank cities of Nablus and Hebron, and palestinians are frequently wounded by Israeli forces. On February 8, Israel killed three Palestinians, triggering strikes in several West Bank cities.
Analysts pointed out that as Palestinian-Israeli tensions escalate, the PLO's inability to prevent Israel from continuing to build settlements has also attracted public criticism, and the PLO's tough attitude is intended to respond to public opinion.
Palestinian protesters confront Israeli soldiers in a village north of the West Bank city of Nablus on December 17, 2021.
Khalid Abu Toumai, an Israeli media commentator, pointed out that after the Israeli army killed 3 Palestinians in Nablus, the Palestinian side announced such a move or "tried to appease the Palestinians."
Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai University of Foreign Chinese, believes that Israel has normalized its relations with arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which has weakened Arab support for Palestine to a certain extent and made Pakistan's situation more difficult.
Wu Bingbing, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at Peking University, believes that the PLO is now in a very helpless situation, neither has the strength to promote the peace process, nor can it obtain sufficient external support, so it can only take a more radical approach to attract the attention of the international community to the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
Difficulty in implementation
In a statement issued by the Central Committee of the PLO on the 9th, it announced the suspension of all forms of security coordination with Israel, and rejected the economic peace projects and confidence-building measures proposed by israel as an alternative to permanent peace.
Analysts pointed out that the PLO has not announced specific measures to terminate the implementation of the contract, and the decision may be difficult to effectively implement in practice. On the one hand, Palestine is currently divided, with the Palestinian National Authority dominated by the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) controlling the West Bank and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) controlling the Gaza Strip. At the same time, there are voices opposing Fatah within the Palestinian National Authority.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (second from left) attends a meeting of leaders of various factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization on the Palestinian general elections in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 29, 2021.
Hani Masri, director of the Centre for the Study of Palestinian Policy and Strategic Issues, said the PLO Central Committee's decision was not new. Since May 2015, pakistan has announced similar decisions several times, but has finally had to resume contact with Israel. In his view, the implementation of the PLO decision implied a conflict with Israel, premised on palestinian internal unity and unity, which at present did not exist.
On the other hand, under the Paris Economic Protocol signed by Palestine and Israel in 1994, israel is responsible for imposing customs duties on goods shipped to Palestine, levying personal income tax on Palestinians working in Israel, and regularly transferring taxes to the Palestinian side. This amount accounts for about two thirds of the budget of the Palestinian National Authority. The Israeli side often withholds the collection of taxes as a "punishment" measure against the Palestinian side. If the Palestinians terminate their performance of the treaty and the Israeli side refuses to hand over taxes, the Palestinian government will fall into a serious economic crisis. In addition, U.S. and European aid is also an important source of revenue for the Palestinian government, and under pressure from the United States and Europe, the Palestinian side is also very likely to change its current decision.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper, citing sources of a senior Palestinian official, reported that "it is unclear whether the decision will materialize." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior officials "or will continue to meet with their Israeli counterparts," the official said.
Some media analysts believe that Israel is clearly on the strong side in Palestinian-Israeli relations, and the policy options are even greater. A complete disengagement of the PLO from Israel will not only be difficult to achieve its objectives, but may also leave the Palestinian side in an even more isolated situation.
(Original title: "Tough Stance on Israel What is the PLO's Intentions")