The Palestinian Authority Since October 2023: Flawed Expectations and Failed Leadership

Abstract

This essay analyzes the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) persistence in adhering to a two-state solution framework despite Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, expanding settler-colonial encroachments, and the degradation of Palestinian institutions in the West Bank. It explores how entrenched clientelism, economic dependencies, and a desire to preserve existing power structures underlie the PA’s reluctance to rethink its approach. As Israeli and international actors abandon former parameters of engagement, the PA’s leadership responds by consolidating authority through a closed circle of loyalists rather than confronting the new realities on the ground. Ultimately, the PA’s silence, inaction, and institutional entrenchment foreclose any meaningful political renewal, leaving it incapable of advancing Palestinian aspirations at this critical historical juncture. Show more