Israel’s recent election outcome -- a victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing Likud party -- is being viewed in Palestine as a defeat. With hopes for an independent state to be acknowledged by Israel virtually vanishing as a consequence, speculation that disappointment may turn to violence is growing.
Israel’s prime minister made his position on any future peace deal with Palestinians clear during his re-election campaign: There will be NO Palestinian state established under his watch.
Basking in the glow of post-election victory, Mr. Netanyahu backtracked. But the damage has already been done.
From the Palestinian perspective, there’s no partner for peace, Jewish settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land continues and Israel’s freeze on hundreds of millions of Palestinian Authority funds - retribution for the PA’s International Criminal Court membership bid - is causing the economy to crumble.
"If this will continue, I think we will be in serious danger and the Palestininan Authority will be in front of real collapse," said Ahmad Ghnaim, deputy assistant of Fatah Advisory Council.
Civic salaries haven’t been paid for months, overall spending is down and the situation is so dire that PA police and internal security forces are being forced to cut operations because of money owed to their fuel supplier.
Logically, security personnel can’t do their jobs without running vehicles. But these gas pumps are cut off to the Palestinian Authority Security Personnel until they pay their tab of about six and a half million U.S. dollars.
Regarding security forces, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is weighing continued cooperation with Israel’s security apparatus in light of the election outcome.
In scrutinizing the combined elements currently in play, analysts use the Arabic term for uprising "intifada".
"I was one of the leaders of the first intifada. I was one of the leaders of the second intifada. So I am aware for the atmosphere which are creating the pressure which bringing the intifada. We are in the high level of this atsmophere. I believe we are in front of th third intifada. It knocked the door hardly," said Ghnaim.