Look at Lebanon to understand what a failure the Palestinian Authority has been ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Friday, February 14, 2025

Look at Lebanon to understand what a failure the Palestinian Authority has been

Since 2008, with the Doha Agreement, Hezbollah has had the ability to veto any Lebanese government actions, making it essentially the most powerful force in Lebanese politics.

Israel's military victory over Hezbollah has now officially changed all that. Hezbollah has lost much of its political legitimacy and power. within the new Lebanese government, formed last Saturday, Hezbollah and its ally Amal are unable to control government actions, and they cannot form a blocking third coalition.

Lebanon's government is weak and fractious. But even in that dysfunctional environment, Hezbollah cannot find a toehold, and it is fighting for its political life. Remember also that the 2008 agreement that gave Hezbollah vast powers was a direct result Hezbollah military actions and threats of a civil war within Lebanon.

In short, Hezbollah's political power is directly connected to its military might. Israel defeated Hezbollah's army; the Lebanese people defeated Hezbollah politically (at least for now.)

But contrast this with the Palestinian political scene.

Like Hezbollah, Hamas has been severely militarily weakened. But there is little to suggest that it has lost political power. It still controls Gaza, and unlike in Lebanon, the Palestinians in the West Bank still largely support the jihadist group. The Palestinian Authority may not like Hamas but it refuses to publicly oppose it or assert dominance.

After receiving billions in aid from the the West and Arab countries to strengthen it, the Palestinian Authority has proven to be worthless. It utterly failed the one test it has been given: to show that it can control the territories.

It cannot even control the West Bank. Its attempt to confront lawless areas of Jenin in December did not succeed, and the Palestinian public did not show support for the operations.

It isn't that Israel didn't defeat Hamas militarily. It is that the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinians altogether, do not have enough of a desire to translate its military defeat into a political defeat. On the contrary, in the West Bank its prestige is still higher than it was before October 7.

They still allow Hamas to have its own veto power over everything they do. In fact, they encourage it.

Even the announcement that the PA will stop paying terrorist families is not framed as a forceful rejection of terror but of Mahmoud Abbas' inability to meet his budget. The response from the Palestinians isn't "good, we need to leave terror behind" but "look how weak Abbas is."

After 30 years, the PA has still not given its people a vision of what a future state would look like. Its rhetoric still supports and lionizes terrorism and its most glorious historic events are of murdering Israelis.

The Lebanese response to Hezbollah's defeat showed that the Lebanese people are willing to fight to take back their country. The Palestinian response to Gaza is the opposite: frame Hamas as victorious, pretend the homeless Gazans who are barred from leaving as exhibiting steadfastness, and allow Hamas to retake Gaza with no opposition whatsoever.

The PA enjoys unprecedented worldwide political and financial support but it has next to no domestic support, while jihadist terrorists are Palestinian role models.

The contrast with the Lebanese response to the opportunity given to them by Hezbollah's defeat could not be clearer.

This is the best proof of what a thorough failure the "State of Palestine" experiment has been.