Though the Palestinian Authority is by no means perfect, since the end of the Second Intifada in the mid-2000s, the PA has been able to maintain a relative calm in the West Bank that has ultimately worked in Israel's favor. That stability has been threatened, however, by extremists in the Israeli government who want to annex the entire West Bank. Israel's security would be directly threatened by a power vacuum, and it must make sure the PA's collapse is avoided.

Though the US may believe that it can force the PA to "reform," the reality is the PA is simply not a partner for peace. Like Hamas, the PA supports the destruction of Israel and lacks democratic legitimacy. The PA would be incapable of demilitarizing Gaza or deradicalizing its population — meaning that the chance that an attack like Oct. 7 could happen again remains. Indeed, Israel may as well let Hamas stay in power if it's truly considering allowing the PA to take over Gaza the day after the war.

The great irony of the debate regarding the PA is that Palestinians, especially in the occupied West Bank, by and large, see the political body as an extension of Israel's occupation. Mahmoud Abbas and his lame-duck administration in Ramallah are deeply unpopular, and Palestinians simply do not want to be governed by the PA. The US must realize that it cannot force Palestinians to support the PA, and it will have to be more creative if it wants to set the conditions advantageous to ending this conflict.

Intercept