A prominent Palestinian civil society organization has issued a stark warning that recent administrative and political decrees by the Palestinian Authority (PA) are exacerbating internal fractures during a period of profound national crisis. The Palestinian National Popular Action Forum, in a December 23rd declaration, stated it is observing these developments against the backdrop of what it characterizes as genocide and systematic starvation in Gaza, coupled with accelerated settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank.
The Forum specifically highlighted Israel’s advancement of plans for 19 new settlements and the forced displacement of northern refugee camps. It interprets these actions as components of a broader strategy to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and ultimately nullify the Palestinian refugee issue.
The group’s statement expressed deep concern that, amidst these existential threats, the official leadership is enacting measures under external pressure that starkly contravene popular will and lack national consensus. A primary point of contention is the PA’s suspension of financial allocations to families of those killed, injured, or imprisoned by Israeli forces. The Forum asserts these payments constitute a fundamental national and moral duty enshrined in Palestinian law, not discretionary aid.
Further condemnation was directed at the transfer of responsibility for these payments to the government-affiliated Tamkeen Foundation, a move described as a blatant denial of rights. The Forum criticized the Foundation’s administrators for allegedly re-categorizing these families as mere ‘social cases’ rather than acknowledging their entitled national status.
Additional criticism targeted a new decree-law governing upcoming local elections, which the Forum argues effectively disenfranchises significant segments of Palestinian society. Provisions mandating that candidates declare alignment with the leadership’s commitments—including recognition of Israel and adherence to the Oslo Accords—were condemned as an assault on freedom of opinion and belief.
The statement also denounced plans to form a new Palestinian National Council through appointment instead of election, alongside alleged compliance with demands to remove national content from school curricula. The Forum warned such changes risk eroding Palestinian historical narrative, identity, and collective memory.
In response, the Forum pledged to mobilize efforts to reverse these policies. It issued a series of demands, including the reinstatement of payments to affected families, the abolition of the Tamkeen Foundation, a boycott of local elections under the current framework, and the defense of national educational content. It also renewed calls to rebuild the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on a democratic basis through comprehensive elections involving Palestinians both in the occupied territories and across the diaspora, vowing to continue the struggle for liberation and the full realization of national rights.