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<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header
gmail-reader-show-element"><font size="4">The Palestinian
Security Sector: Entrenching State Repression</font></div>
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<p>by <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/en/author/alaat/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Alaa Tartir</a> on November
14, 2021</p>
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<div> <img
src="https://al-shabaka.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Tartir_PolicyMemo_Nov2021.jpeg"
alt="" style="margin-right: 25px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="452" height="301"> </div>
<p><span>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 </span><a
href="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"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>largest portion</span></a><span>
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.</span></p>
<p><span>These figures indicate the stark divide
between the needs of the Palestinian people and
the PA’s priorities. While Palestinians seek to
end the</span><a
href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/palestinian-securitization-vs-liberation-with-alaa/id1537774938?i=1000529683048"
moz-do-not-send="true"> <span>oppressive security
framework</span></a><span> imposed by the Oslo
Accords, the PA</span><a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/palestinian-authority-security-forces-whose-security/"
moz-do-not-send="true"> <span>continues to invest</span></a><span>
politically, financially, and institutionally in
the status quo, entrenching the security framework
under the pretext of stability and state-building.</span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a
href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2018.1516337"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>professionalization
of Palestinian authoritarianism</span></a><span>.
Thus, structural authoritarianism is imbedded in
the Palestinian political system.</span></p>
<h2><span
id="gmail-Repression_and_Social_Deterioration"></span><b>Repression
and Social Deterioration</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>Following the killing of activist and </span><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/palestine-nizar-banat-killing-world-must-stop-enabling-pa-crimes"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>PA critic Nizar Banat</span></a><span>
in June 2021, the PASF cracked down on peaceful
protests</span><a
href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/palestinian-security-forces-escalate-brutal-campaign-of-repression/"
moz-do-not-send="true"> <span>with unlawful force</span></a><span>,
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. </span></p>
<p><span>Consolidating power in the security sector
continues to be a key objective of the PA.</span>
<span>The goal of the </span><a
href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.46.2.7"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>2007 PASF campaigns</span></a><span>
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 camp</span><a
href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2017.46.2.7"
moz-do-not-send="true"> <span>derisively asked</span></a><span>:
“How can a thief be held in the same jail cell as
a </span><i><span>muqawim</span></i><span>
(freedom fighter)?”</span></p>
<p><span>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 “</span><a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/after-gaza-what-price-palestines-security-sector/"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>Smile and Hope</span></a><span>,”
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.</span></p>
<p><span>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.</span></p>
<h2><span
id="gmail-Rethinking_Security_Sector_Governance"></span><b>Rethinking
Security Sector Governance</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>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: </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span>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. </span></li>
<li><span>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.</span></li>
<li><span>Palestinian civil society must pressure
the PA to implement the Palestine Liberation
Organization’s decision to stop security
coordination with Israel, which it has </span><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestinian-authority-security-coordination-what-gain"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span>failed to do</span></a><span>
despite its claims.</span></li>
<li><span>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.</span></li>
</ul>
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