Kuwait’s former information minister blamed the Palestinian Authority leadership for the suffering of its people.
In an article entitled “If a Palestinian State Had Been Established” in the Saudi Daily Independent Arabia, Sa’ad Bin Tefla Al-’Ajmi, placed the responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinian people on the leadership and blamed them for the lack of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute.
He cites several reasons for this, among them the endless schisms and divisions among the leadership and the corrupt and tyrannical nature of the Palestinian authorities, both in the West Bank and Gaza. He contemplates what an independent Palestinian state might look like given that the Palestinians modeled their government after Iraq and Iran, whose rulers Al-‘Ajmi says, are perpetrators of widespread destruction and bloodshed.
“The official Gaza [authorities] currently praise Iran and erect mourning-tents for its martyrs, from [Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani to Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, [the deputy-commander of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq],” he wrote. “And in the West Bank they erected a monument in honor of Saddam Hussein and named major streets after him. In other words, [for the Palestinians,] the models of heroism in the region, whom they wish to emulate, are people like Saddam Hussein and Qassem Soleimani.”
Al-‘Ajmi points to the fact that since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, not one Israeli Arab has given up his Israeli citizenship in favor of Palestinian citizenship. He also notes that Palestinians are eager to obtain work permits in Israel and are even willing to work in Israeli “settlements” in the West Bank.
This, he says, reflects a dire situation under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas rule.
“Some may think this article harsh, while others may regard it as [a description of] the bitter reality. Those who question [my] presentation of this reality should go back and examine some facts and figures: The number of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship [i.e., Israeli Arabs] is currently 1.5 million. In other words, they constitute one fifth, or 20%, of Israel’s population. How many of these Palestinians have given up their Israeli citizenship in favor of a Palestinian one since the signing of the Oslo Accords [and the forming of the PA] in 1993? The answer is: not even one.”
Boycotting of Jewish businesses in Judea and Samaria has cost many Palestinians their jobs and livelihoods. Such was the case of SodaStream which had to let 500 Palestinian employees go when the business was forced to shut its operations in the West Bank and move to Israel.
Al-‘Ajmi also notes in his article that opposing either the PA or Hamas in Gaza has deadly consequences.
“[It]can result in disaster and loss, torture and [even] death. We still remember the killing of civil activist Nizar Banat, who died of torture last year in a PA prison. According to independent investigations, 57 Palestinian activists have been tortured to death in the PA prisons and in Hamas’ prisons in Gaza,” he writes.
“The Human Rights Watch [organization] likewise states that the PA and Hamas systematically employ torture in their prisons.”
“As for the corruption, it has even reached the point of [stealing the international] aid money that is intended for the needy, and international investigative committees should to be established [to look into this matter].”
