Why the Left Needs to Ditch the Palestinian Authority

In the Solidarity campaign for Palestinian independence, the demand of the recognition of the State of Palestine has long been a basic principle. However, the recent events of Al Aqsa Flood and Israel’s war on Gaza has shown that the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah remain nothing but puppets of the Israeli occupation and blind support for them across the left increasingly is problematic and counterproductive.

Many on the left will post about the PA and criticise them on social media yet they shy away from doing this within our united fronts and in public. But what exactly is the PA and why is it such a contentious issue in the Palestinian solidarity movement.

The PA came into existence in 1994 as a part of the Oslo Accords ‘peace’ agreements. Just like the Oslo Accords themselves the PA were eventually revealed to be nothing but a farce to legitimise Israeli occupation and continued expansion of illegal settlements. The PA has all throughout its existence been dominated by Fatah, the key leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). When the second intifada began in 2000 the Palestinian Authority stood against the idea of resistance to the occupation forces, with only certain mutineer factions supporting the resistance.

Throughout the Second Intifada Israeli intelligence’s assassination campaign of resistance leaders extended to the still existing revolutionary wing of Fatah which was attempting to uphold the idea of resistance to the Israeli occupation’s crimes. By the end of the Intifada Fatah stood almost entirely against the resistance which led to their defeat in the 2006 Palestinian election.

After the election Fatah was completely unwilling to hand over control of the Palestinian Authority to Hamas who had won the election. Fatah could count on the support of the Israelis in this regard as well who saw Fatah as a force they could control. This led to a conflict between the two factions which saw Hamas take control of Gaza and Fatah take full control of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas gained the power to rule by decree and since 2007 the Palestinian Legislative Council has not met. Abbas and his loyalists inside Fatah have been solely in charge of the PA regime for almost two decades, so how have they faired.

The Palestinian Authority famously has never been able to properly protect Palestinians in the West Bank. Their security forces stepping in to protect their people from the destruction/stealing of their homes by settlers or from settler violence would almost certainly see a violent retaliation from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). The IOF continues to launch invasions into the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority does nothing or actively assists them in every case.

Recently, specifically in Tulkarem (with many more examples) the PA has opened fire on civilians at resistance funerals, events and has launched targeted attacks against resistance members and their families. Resistance members who should be fighting for their people’s freedom are held in PA detention where they are mistreated, tortured and in some cases handed to Israeli forces.

Sinn Féin, having historical relations with the PLO and Fatah have continued to support them. Sinn Féin supports the Oslo Accords and the two-state solution, seeing both as the Palestinian equivalent of the Good Friday Agreement (which in terms of bending the knee to your occupier they’re right). They continue to toe the line of the PA when talking about Palestine, refusing to show support for the resistance and continuing to hold onto the two-state illusion.

While we should expect nothing less from a party like Sinn Féin, them being the largest group on the Irish left means that their unconditional support for the PA runs deep into our movements. The same as how we should be struggling against Sinn Féin’s hypocrisy on issues in our other broad campaigns we should be struggling with them here.

Groups with open and clear relations with the PA like Sinn Féin have been called out on it by Palestinians and other activists, with their milquetoast position on Palestine increasingly being exposed. However, many other groups, specifically the IPSC continue to be unable to take a clear position on this seemingly clear-cut issue. Many of the IPSC’s membership claims that even if they on individual levels agree with the right of the Palestinian people to resist it would be bad optics for the movement. The idea that it would be bad optics for the solidarity movement to support the right to resist significantly undersells the consciousness of the Irish people. Socialists should push the IPSC and other left groups to cut any existing ties with the comprador PA and their “consulate” even if we are unable to push for openly pro-resistance messaging, while we ourselves should be attempting to further normalise the conversation of the Palestinians right to resist the genocidal Israeli regime. By refusing to talk about the resistance on the left we concede to the PA supporters who are very open with their allegiance’s.

If groups like the IPSC are unable or unwilling to break with Sinn Féin on giving legitimacy to a puppet regime of the Zionist project, then we as socialists, anti-imperialists and supporters of Palestinian liberation must reevaluate how we approach these groups. We must consider and recognise the contradictions of chanting free Palestine alongside people actively supporting a regime working with the occupation, not against it. To not even challenge these positions while public support for Palestinian liberation is at its peak (especially amongst newer activists) is unprincipled at best and cowardly at worst.