Media coverage
Al Jazeera Net · 2025-02-09
The article presents the views of five Palestinian researchers and analysts on the factors shaping Palestinians’ political future, the roles of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and the prospects for reforming Palestinian governing institutions. The discussion highlights the impact of Israeli policies, Palestinian division, and a crisis of legitimacy, while differing over the future of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas and stressing the need for political reform and broader participation by youth and Palestinians across all places of residence.
The article presents the views of five Palestinian researchers and analysts on the factors shaping Palestinians’ political future, the roles of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and the prospects for reforming Palestinian governing institutions. The discussion highlights the impact of Israeli po…
The American newspaper The New York Times published the views of 5 Palestinian researchers and analysts on 5 questions related to the political future of the Palestinian people, the role of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Authority in the coming government, and the political factors that may determine the fate of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The discussion included Raja Khalidi, Director of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute; Leila Farsakh, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston; Dana El Kurd, a researcher at the Arab Center Washington DC; Abeer Barakat, professor at the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza; and Omar Shaban, Director of PalThink for Strategic Studies in Cairo.
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## 1. What factors are shaping the political future of the Palestinians today?
Khalidi stressed that the two main factors at present are Israeli policies and what Israel decides to do, alongside the current structure of Palestinian governance. He emphasized that the division between Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to the crisis of legitimacy afflicting the existing institutions, constitutes major obstacles.
Farsakh agreed with this view, adding that regional powers such as Egypt, Qatar, and the United States also play a crucial role. She also pointed to the role of the Palestinian Authority in the issue, saying that the Authority’s actions in dismantling Palestinian society and failing to unify it “cannot be forgiven.”
The university professor added that the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy comes from outside, through Israeli and American support, rather than from Palestinian popular support, and that Palestinians must take matters into their own hands.
El Kurd highlighted the Palestine Liberation Organization, which “has lost its legitimacy and no longer represents the Palestinian people,” according to the researcher, who also believes that Palestinians must take charge of their own affairs and draw on international support to free themselves from the current political constraints.
## 2. Can the Palestinian Authority be reformed? What is its role in the future Palestinian state?
Barakat affirmed that Palestinians want a government based on justice and expertise rather than factional loyalty. She rejected the idea of the Palestinian Authority returning to Gaza under Israeli or American influence, calling instead for a Palestinian government that makes the Palestinian people and their problems its priority.
For his part, Khalidi said that the Palestinian Authority may have “outlived its usefulness,” citing its loss of legal standing because of repeated Israeli violations of any agreements with it, while at the same time predicting that Hamas would remain a major part of governing the Palestinian people in the future, despite the war having exhausted it, in his words.
El Kurd criticized confining the discussion of future Palestinian governance to only the West Bank and Gaza, pointing to the need also to think about Palestinians living in Jerusalem, the occupied territories, and the Palestinian diaspora, who are often excluded from political discussions about governance.
Farsakh acknowledged the role of the existing institutions, especially the Palestine Liberation Organization, but explained that they need reform. She pointed out that over the past decades Israel has assassinated Palestinian leaders wherever they were, which has made political organization more difficult.
## 3. What is Hamas’s role in the future of Palestinian leadership?
Barakat affirmed that Hamas is an integral part of Palestinian society and should have a role in the future Palestinian government, even if this does not entail absolute control. She believes that the movement’s ideology of resistance will continue regardless of its military strength.
Shaban, however, believes that the military approach is no longer effective, and expects regional powers to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities. He proposes that Hamas transform into a political and social organization.
Farsakh indicated that Hamas has evolved over time and shown political flexibility, but she believes that the movement’s decisions have played a role in Palestinian suffering.
## 4. What are the expected features of Palestinian leadership in the future?
Shaban mentioned that the 2021 elections, which did not take place, saw the registration of 36 electoral lists, including 26 led by young people. He noted that the majority of Palestinians are under 30 and have no political connection with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, stressing that elections are extremely important for the stability of the region and must be supported by the international community.
Khalidi highlighted the age gap in Palestinian leadership, pointing out that the leadership of the Palestinian Authority is dominated by individuals over the age of 70, while younger Palestinians are systematically excluded from positions of power. He called for a political system that allows youth participation.
Khalidi believes that Hamas has proven its ability to confront Israel, which some Palestinians consider an important political lesson, and he proposes finding ways to integrate Hamas into a political framework that does not rely on armed resistance.
## 5. What are the next steps? Are they elections?
Shaban says that it is not possible to hold elections now, but that a new leadership is expected to emerge in the near future, and in his view it will include neither Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas nor Hamas.
Farsakh, for her part, pointed in this regard to the strong presence of Palestinian civil society, and believes that democratic mechanisms must be created to allow young people to participate in shaping their future.
El Kurd pointed to the growing discussion among Palestinian youth about the ineffectiveness of the two-state solution, especially in light of the current vision of the international community, which gives Palestinians no real sovereignty and does not meet their needs.
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