[News] The Palestinian Security Sector: Entrenching State Repression

[Anti-Imperialist News]

al-shabaka.org 
<https://al-shabaka.org/memos/the-palestinian-security-sector-consolidating-authoritarianism-and-repression/>

The Palestinian Security Sector: Entrenching State Repression

by Alaa Tartir <https://al-shabaka.org/en/author/alaat/> on November 14, 
2021

In October 2021, the Palestinian Civil Society Team for Enhancing Public 
Budget Transparency revealed that the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) 
security sector continues to receive the largest portion 
<https://www.aman-palestine.org/cached_uploads/download/2021/10/11/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-2021-1633945288.pdf>of 
the PA’s budget. During the first half of 2021, more than 50 million 
Israeli shekels (~$16 million) were spent on the reform of the PA 
security forces (PASF). The PASF also received 1,675 million shekels 
(~$538 million) - over 22% of the PA’s total budget - of which 88% were 
allocated to salaries; this was an increase of 115 million shekels (~$37 
million) in comparison with the first six months of 2020.

These figures indicate the stark divide between the needs of the 
Palestinian people and the PA’s priorities. While Palestinians seek to 
end theoppressive security framework 
<https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/palestinian-securitization-vs-liberation-with-alaa/id1537774938?i=1000529683048>imposed 
by the Oslo Accords, the PAcontinues to invest 
<https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/palestinian-authority-security-forces-whose-security/>politically, 
financially, and institutionally in the status quo, entrenching the 
security framework under the pretext of stability and state-building.

Rather than a process of democratization, inclusiveness, and 
accountability, the PA’s internationally-sponsored security reform 
processes – which have been the lynchpin of the PA’s post-2007 
state-building project - have resulted in repression, persecution, and 
the professionalization of Palestinian authoritarianism 
<https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2018.1516337>. Thus, structural 
authoritarianism is imbedded in the Palestinian political system.


    *Repression and Social Deterioration*

Following the killing of activist and PA critic Nizar Banat 
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/palestine-nizar-banat-killing-world-must-stop-enabling-pa-crimes>in 
June 2021, the PASF cracked down on peaceful protestswith unlawful force 
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/palestinian-security-forces-escalate-brutal-campaign-of-repression/>, 
targeting journalists, civil society activists, and lawyers with 
arbitrary arrests and torture. The level of repression observed during 
the summer of 2021 was unprecedented, and its complexity was apparent: 
it indicated the steady convergence of the legal, political, security, 
and economic institutions of the PA. Converging to repress more 
effectively is a concerning development, and unless it is countered with 
people-driven accountability mechanisms, authoritarian aggression will 
intensify and democratic transition will be denied.

Consolidating power in the security sector continues to be a key 
objective of the PA. The goal of the 2007 PASF campaigns 
<https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.46.2.7>was to “cleanse” the West Bank 
of non-PA weapons, conduct a disarmament process, arrest those who 
challenged the PA’s authority, and send a clear message to Palestinians 
that the PA was the sole governing structure and power. Hence, the PA 
adopted a “blanket approach” to confiscate arms, and intentionally 
blurred the lines between “weapons of anarchy” and those of “armed 
resistance.” This meant that criminals and resistance fighters were 
conflated and similarly targeted. As a resident of Balata refugee 
campderisively asked <https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.46.2.7>: “How can 
a thief be held in the same jail cell as a /muqawim/(freedom fighter)?”

The ramifications of security sector reform (SSR) processes take time to 
manifest socially, and in Palestine, they are now becoming clear. The 
2007 security campaigns, ironically dubbed as “Smile and Hope 
<https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/after-gaza-what-price-palestines-security-sector/>,” 
and the ongoing reform process that ensued created profound structural 
problems and deficiencies that only entrenched a culture of fear, tamed 
and criminalized resistance, and deepened the distrust Palestinians feel 
towards their leadership.

Indeed, the torture and killing of political opponents, arbitrary arrest 
of critics in inhumane conditions, increased levels of surveillance, and 
decreased levels of tolerance and plurality, are key ingredients for 
deterioration in Palestinian society. Further securitization of social 
spaces will disempower the Palestinian people, entrench their 
fragmentation, and weaken their ability to effectively resist colonial 
and oppressive structures.


    *Rethinking Security Sector Governance*

Rethinking Palestinian security sector governance whereby the 
Palestinian people are prioritized must be part of any serious and 
comprehensive national dialogue. The consolidation of power, as opposed 
to inclusivity and accountability, has meant that the PASF are more 
accountable to donors and the Israeli regime than to the Palestinian 
people. Reversing this is a critical entry point to SSR. In order to do so:

  * Palestinian civil society and leadership must commit to engage in an
    inclusive, genuine, and comprehensive national dialogue. Revisiting
    the Palestinian national program from a security sector governance
    lens could serve multiple purposes, as it necessitates debating
    resistance strategies, the nature of the governance structures, and
    accountability mechanisms.
  * Palestinian political factions and civil society must demand that
    the PA redistribute its budget equitably, including in productive
    economic sectors, to bring an end to the inflated budget of the PA
    security establishment.
  * Palestinian civil society must pressure the PA to implement the
    Palestine Liberation Organization’s decision to stop security
    coordination with Israel, which it has failed to do
    <https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestinian-authority-security-coordination-what-gain>despite
    its claims.
  * Palestinian civil society and leadership must adopt a united
    resistance strategy, including with regards to armed resistance, to
    avoid the instrumentalization of arms and weapons in internal
    fighting by political factions, especially in times of power
    transitions and leadership vacuums.

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