For much of the Palestinian public in the West Bank, the most pressing political issue of the moment is not Israeli plans regarding the legal status of Jewish towns and villages, but recent revelations of corruption and nepotism in Mahmoud Abbas’s government. The scandal has been made worse by the fact that it involves the health ministry, at a time when worry over the coronavirus is high, and trust in public-health officials particularly important. Yoni Ben Menachem writes:

First was the Palestinian aid money stolen by senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, and now a new nepotism scandal is rocking the PA leadership. [Reportedly], Health Minister Mai al-Kaila, . . . a close associate of Abbas, has in recent days appointed several relatives of senior PA officials to senior positions in the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The news of the appointments was leaked on social media. The PA did not deny it, and the rage grew on the Palestinian street, especially since the PA has withheld salaries for tens of thousands of their own workers because of the coronavirus crisis. At the same time, the PA leadership is given generous benefits and large salaries. A wave of denunciations and unrelenting criticism filled social media in the PA on June 23.

The public outrage forced the PA to respond quickly to these new appointments. The PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced at his weekly government meeting on June 22 that a new committee will review all appointments in government offices. . . . The Palestinian street isn’t buying it, however, and does not believe anything will come out of this newly established review committee.

This is one of the reasons Abbas will find it difficult to rally the support of the West Bank citizenry in anticipation of the Israeli extension of sovereignty. He may find that Palestinians are in no hurry to respond to calls by the PA leadership or his Fatah party.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.