The decision of the UK to declare Hamas a terrorist organization created a problem with the position of Europe on the Palestinian problem. While Europe is pressuring Mahmoud Abbas to hold parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza, the British position is that Hamas is a terrorist organization disqualified for contact. Consequently, faced with the position of Europe to push for Palestinian unity towards a state, the position of the United Kingdom means that there is no Palestinian state containing Hamas. But disqualifying Hamas as a partner in political processes, or any other process is today also preferred by the Muqata'a in Ramallah.

The failure of efforts in the last Donors meeting in Brussels to obtain international aid to the Palestinian Authority also challenges its existence. According to sources in Ramallah, European countries have refrained from securing aid because of their demand that the Fatah-led government is replaced by a technocratic government that will allow unification with Gaza, but Fatah opposes it. As long as there is no breakthrough in this regard, European aid will not be renewed – the sources in Ramallah told us.
Other donor requirements include governance and respect for human rights. Regarding human rights, the PA cannot make promises, but in the matter of governance, it owes it both in itself, and also to prove that it is capable of maintaining a viable Palestinian state.

As for governance, there has been a serious deterioration in the past few weeks in Hebron and Jenin. In Hebron, the clan warfare between Ja'abari and Kawasma became uncontrollable, and the clan militias controlled the streets, and the police disappeared.

The loss of control in Jenin bore a different character. At the funeral of a senior Fatah, hundreds of militants from all factions came to carry their weapons defiantly in front of the PA, mainly Fatah and Islamic Jihad, as Hamas operatives waved Hamas flags, which are forbidden in the West Bank.

Here, the Palestinian Authority was enforced to force its rule in front of the armed militias, fighting broke out in Jenin, and it is too early to assess how they will end.

The clashes in Jenin have another aspect: the competition between the big boss of the Palestinian security, Majed Faraj, and Mohammed Dahlan, exiled in Abu Dhabi. Tanzim Fatah in Jenin is considered a trustee of Dahlan, and this struggle can also be interpreted as an effort by Faraj to weaken his opponent in the battle of succession on the day after Mahmoud Abbas.

What indicates this direction is the unexpected visit of Majed Faraj to the Emirates for the Expo. Although it was not a formal visit, he was accepted by senior UAE officials for political talks. It must be considered that the Emirates were happy to receive a Palestinian legitimization to the Abraham Accords after the PA strongly criticized them, but Dahlan accepted it differently. Since Majed Faraj's visit, Dahlan's websites have started publicizing how corrupt he is.