Yesterday, the Israeli cabinet voted to take as-yet-unspecified steps to “stabilize the civil situation” within the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and to do what it can to keep the PA from collapsing—while continuing to call attention to the PA’s policies of encouraging terrorism with both propaganda and generous financial rewards. Haviv Rettig Gur explains some of the reasons for the unstable situation in Judea and Samaria:

The West Bank isn’t simply collapsing into a miasma of nationalist rage, as many observers fear. It is imploding in the vacuum created by a far more insidious and persistent force: bureaucratic neglect. . . . Economic prosperity doesn’t prevent terror or violence, nor does poverty drive them. But the problem . . . goes deeper than impoverishment or bad governance. In places like Jenin and Nablus, [from which most terrorism in the past year has originated], where the PA has retreated and local terrorist militias now rule, there’s almost no government at all, no safety, no planning.

By way of example, Gur notes the problems Palestinian have getting reliable electricity, and observes that a planned new power plant near Jenin would alleviate the situation—and benefit Israel and involved foreign countries as well as the Palestinians themselves. But so far the plan has been held up:

A tiny part of the infrastructure, some 300 meters of pipeline, must pass through an Israeli-administered strip of land in [the mostly-Jewish part of the West Bank known as] Area C. Civil Administration approval for the site is being held up, frustrating Palestinian officials, foreign backers, and—this is vital to understand—senior Israeli government officials. There’s no reason for the delay, no fight over the relevant strip, no archaeological dig or holy site, no nearby settlement or military base. The delay costs Israel money and slows gas sales. It is pure bureaucratic incompetence. . . .

The PA is dying. A great deal of its death is by its own hand, by its bottomless corruption and incompetence, by its refusal since Yasir Arafat’s day to turn into something more than a petty kleptocracy, and, of course, by its close cooperation with Israel in its desperate efforts to maintain stability and prevent its own ouster by more radical Palestinian forces.

Israel’s enemies tend to think of the country as a unitary whole where every mistake or crime is a function of malice or deep planning. It is a habit of prejudice to reduce the object of one’s judgment to such uniformity. The reality, of course, is never as simple or thrillingly nefarious as the bigot imagines. There are many different Israels, many different political and cultural subgroups with different visions for the country’s future. . . . Israeli governments are unstable multiparty coalitions pulling in many different directions all at once.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”