Palestinian political leadership is in a state of crisis. How did this come to be and what does the future hold? In this Focus On, we look back on several pieces authored by Al-Shabaka analysts which explore issues of Palestinian leadership in the past and present, and which propose concrete possibilities for future models that specifically engage youth.  

For Palestinians, the Palestinian leadership’s year-end decision to restore security coordination with Israel means a return to a status quo that did little to forward Palestinian liberation. Yet 2020 has demonstrated that radical and abrupt change to established orders is possible. Can Palestinians aspire to such changes in the new year? Marwa Fatafta explores how Palestinians can reclaim and redefine their leadership in the PLO. 

How can the PLO maintain accountability as both a national liberation movement and governing body? How might Hamas and Islamic Jihad be integrated after decades of exclusion? What models of Palestinian youth leadership can be further developed? Al-Shabaka analysts address these and other questions in this full-length report, a year-long exercise facilitated by Alaa Tartir…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) in no way resembles the Palestinian government promised in the heady years of the Oslo Accords, a discrepancy in part attributable to political neopatrimonialism and its resultant corruption. Al-Shabaka analyst Marwa Fatafta examines PA corruption through its overreach, patronage practices, and collusion with Israel, as well as international pressures, and proposes avenues for genuine reform.

With current Palestinian governance facing a legitimacy crisis, Al-Shabaka convened an open-ended Policy Circle on Leadership and Accountability to elicit recommendations for a leadership that fully represents Palestinians, restores their unity, and respects their rights. Our experts suggest models ranging from a restructured PLO to a populist democracy represented by civil society organizations.

New technologies have enabled Israel to surveil Palestinians on an unprecedented scale. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Nadim Nashif examines Israel’s use of social media as a tool of surveillance, as well as other digital obstacles to Palestinian rights, and concludes with ways Palestinians can counter these practices and safeguard their digital freedoms.