• The institutional relationship between the PA and the PLO
• The relationship between the political system and international organizations, with a focus on UNRWA as a case study

On November 20, 2024, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) held a hybrid-style open dialogue entitled “Challenges facing the Palestinian political system” at the Red Crescent Headquarters in Al Bireh. The conference shed light on the challenges facing the Palestinian political system and the escalating political and humanitarian situation after the 37th Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu took office at the end of 2022.

The conference brought together several experts, scholars, analysts and political and national figures, in addition to official institutions, diplomatic missions, NGOs, INGOs and university students. Its focus was on pressing issues within the Palestinian political system, especially in light of the genocide against the Palestinian people and its subsequent political repercussions.

MIFTAH’s objective was to hold a discussion on political courses of action and proposals that could help develop a joint Palestinian vision for confronting challenges to the internal Palestinian relationship between the PLO and PA and relationships with international organizations, including the inflammatory Israeli assault on UNRWA.

The conference’s interventions focused on two major points: the first session discussed the institutional relationship between the PA and PLO, while the second session focused on the political system’s relationship with international organizations, with UNRWA as a case study.

In her opening address, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Chair of MIFTAH’s Board of Directors, stated that the PA was created as one arm of the PLO and that the relationship between the PLO and PA must be clear and integral. She stressed how the PLO is the entity that shouldered the responsibility of protecting the Palestinian people’s rights and cemented their national identity. Ashrawi called for finding ways to revive the PLO and revitalize its institutions and to discipline the relationship between it and the PA in order to achieve its national goals. She maintained this should be far-removed from slogans but rather, focused on practical steps to galvanize its role in local and international arenas.

Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, member of MIFTAH’s BoD highlighted the historical roots of the problematic relationship between the PA and the PLO, tracing the political transformations since the Palestinian declaration of independence in 1988 to today. Shuaibi indicated that the PA was created by a decision from the PLO Executive Committee, but then branched off without a clear framework to determine the institutional relationship between the two parties. He maintained that the only solution lies in a reassessment of the shape and form of the PA and the reinforcement and independence of the PLO’s role.

Opening the session, MIFTAH Executive Director, Dr. Taheer Araj, said the procedures adopted by the current Israeli government fall within a clear plan to permanently eliminate the Palestinian cause. Araj ascertained that the Israeli occupation is very clear on its intentions to continue its genocide of the Palestinians to forcibly displace them, not only as a future step but one applicable in the near future.

The conference coincided with the ongoing escalation of Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, including increasing violence, settlement expansion and settler attacks in addition to the genocide on the Gaza Strip, which began on October, 2023. The Israeli government is also continuing to undermine the PA through attempts to destroy it financially and politically and by classifying PLO factions and Palestinian national movements as “terrorist” all of which threaten the stability of the Palestinian political system. The participants also discussed the ongoing Israeli assault on official and international Palestinian institutions, including UNRWA.

The final segment of the conference was a discussion of Palestinian options for facing these challenges, with a focus on the need to develop a joint Palestinian vision at the internal and international levels, to guide Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and independence and to end the genocide on occupied Palestinian land.