Erekat demonstrates extent of the PA’s incompetence

Among the various statements made by Palestinian leaders regarding Israeli settler and state violence, PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat epitomised the height of political incapacity yesterday when he declared that “the Palestinian leadership will not remain silent in the face of persisting Israeli escalation in the occupied territories, and will continue to report all Israeli crimes committed against Palestinians to the International Criminal Court.”

According to Maan news agency, 151 settler attacks have been carried out against Palestinians since the start of 2015. The Palestinian Authority’s reaction to the attacks has consistently involved threats to cease security coordination with Israel, and vague statements regarding the punishment of settlers responsible for the atrocities despite evidence of the obvious impunity which shields settler terrorists from any type of prosecution.

Erekat also echoed Abbas’s pathetic pleas for foreign intervention, while stating that Netanyahu “cannot and will not break the will of our people to fulfil our inalienable rights in an independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital,” thus continuing the discourse that fragments Palestine beyond any hope of reconciliation.

In reality, the Palestinian leadership has proved itself to be collaborating with the Israeli government. Erekat’s claims, like many other vacuous statements in the past, will not hold any significance for Palestinians actively resisting settler aggression. However, the hollow rhetoric should not be construed as a futile attempt at diplomacy. The Palestinian leadership will not remain silent, as its existence depends upon various forms of political violence, in the same manner as Israel and the UN are dependent upon massacres and constant turmoil to safeguard their structures. The PA’s dependence, however, is of a more intrinsic nature; hence the constant subjugation to Israel and even the international community which, in the long run, is of particular significance in two aspects – the PA’s reliability as collaborator in colonial expansion, as well as the PA’s inability to influence any political initiative that will ultimately aid Palestinian resistance.

In fact, Mahmoud Abbas has appealed to Palestinians, declaring: “We don’t want a military and security escalation with Israel.” As more Palestinians fall victim to Israeli sniper fire and violent provocation by settlers and soldiers, including stone-throwing settlers planted among Palestinians and undercover agents wounding Palestinians at point blank range, the PA has done little to endorse and support resistance, proving once again that despite claiming to represent Palestinians, the people stand alone in defending themselves and their land.

Meanwhile, MEP Martina Anderson has called for Palestine to be placed under international protection, stating that nothing has changed for the Palestinians and it is necessary that all foreign ministers of EU member states should collectively challenge Israel’s impunity.

International protection efforts, however, are a mere continuation of imperialist schemes that will only benefit Israel through complicity. It is absurd to entertain the thought that the international community can embody even a sliver of justice, when it is ultimately responsible for the historical scheming that led to Palestinians enduring ethnic cleansing and displacement in order to establish and maintain an extension of their hegemony through Israel’s colonial presence in the region.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.