Is it possible for Israel to declare the authority as an enemy entity!

Israel cannot decide without American approval on any step, which may be a complex mix of revenge against the authority. The most dangerous of these decisions, and the one most aligned with Israeli goals, is the declaration of the Palestinian National Authority as an enemy entity. This decision only requires a government resolution, as was the case in 2007 when Olmert's government declared the Gaza Strip an enemy entity.

Considering the authority as an enemy entity will allow the Israeli government to shift its dealings from the authority to civil and semi-official institutions such as municipalities, chambers of commerce, unions, private sector companies, and various businessmen.

This scenario may seem the most likely to be implemented, as this decision provides Israel with significant flexibility to treat the authority as an irrelevant entity without the need to cancel the Oslo Accords. Consequently, Israel could then change travel procedures and prevent Palestinian officials from having any mobility, even pursuing them before Israeli security agencies, allowing for control over the authority's financial resources and other properties. It could also request that all parties refrain from dealing with the various authority agencies.

Marketing this step will spare Israel from taking direct actions that may politically harm it; it is sufficient to declare the authority an enemy entity to crystallize a long-term operational strategy. What has happened in the Gaza Strip since 2007 to the present clearly indicates that the new definition has taken a long time to implement the larger project of displacement.

If the declaration of the Gaza Strip at that time aimed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, then the Israeli step of declaring the authority an enemy entity becomes a higher priority as it achieves the same declared goal for Israel.

Whether Israel takes this step or other parallel and/or equivalent steps, or any other action, what matters to it is the dissolution of the authority as a unified political, administrative, and service entity, transforming population centers into a collection of fragmented and conflicting administrations.

The advice for decision-makers is to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, which begins with declaring the authority an enemy entity and does not stop at partial annexation or actual control over all territories, attempting to isolate and dismantle the authority by deepening cooperation with local bodies. Not only that, but also pursuing every official body within the authority and pressuring it, which may lead to the pursuit of officials and creating unprecedented chaos within cities, villages, and camps, on the path to tearing apart the Palestinian social identity.

This possibility may seem far-fetched; however, it is possible if it receives support from the United States, especially if Trump does not achieve what he wants from his anticipated meeting with several Arab leaders in New York. The idea of dismantling the authority and pushing it towards collapse would be the optimal choice to bury the idea of a state in parallel with the war on Gaza. Ben Gvir's call to arrest President Abu Mazen may be preceded by the arrest of several Palestinian officials to push the authority towards collapse. The government may be prevented from holding its sessions, and Israel may threaten several of its members if they go against its instructions. Everyone remembers how Israel prevented celebrations or even the establishment of reception tents for prisoners during the exchange deal; how would it act if it decided to declare the authority an enemy entity?!!

Nevertheless, not everything planned by the occupation is fate. If the proposed options exist, it is more appropriate for decision-makers to take all of this into account and prepare well. We believe that the current methods of managing public affairs will change due to Israeli decisions. Therefore, either these official bodies take deep and different preparatory steps, or we will face an existential test due to the inability to grasp the seriousness of the phase and its implications for our people. And since decision-makers believe that everything can be managed and coped with, we will not propose solutions, but we sound a national alarm bell, hoping that some will remember to formulate the least possible response to confront Israeli steps.