Building a state on shifting sands: An evaluation of the Palestinian National Authority's policy reforms and performance in the West Bank, 2009-2011

Abstract

Since the inception of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) in 1994, leadership has struggled in its role to create a safe environment conducive to economic and social prosperity, and to negotiate an end to the Israeli occupation and recognition of an independent State of Palestine. Following a violent Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation from 2000 to 2005, the Palestinian legislature crumbled after there was international fallout with the PA over Hamas winning a majority of the legislature seats. Since 2007, Hamas has ruled in the Gaza Strip largely independent of the PA and a Fatah-dominant Palestinian caretaker government has ruled in the West Bank. There have been substantial differences between the trajectory of their economic, geopolitical, legal and social development. In the West Bank, PA leaders unveiled a series of state and institution building plans anchored in a commitment to security that garnered broad international support. This thesis provides a historical account of the development of the PA institutions and the limits of its authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The primary research aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of the state and institution building plan, Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State, in the West Bank during the 2009-2011 period in regards to the security landscape, judicial system, and economic development in the West Bank, as well as the attempt to end the occupation and solidify recognition as a sovereign Palestinian state. Underlying pressures on state building in Palestine are identified and this thesis presents a strategy for Palestinian leadership so that when it comes to the negotiating table with Israel, it will be as a respected, organized and united body that has enacted all measures possible to guarantee the degree of peace and prosperity that are within their control. While Palestinians' ultimate aim is statehood recognition and an end to the Israeli occupation, this thesis argues that reforming the Israeli-Palestinian economic framework is a critical first step to advancing Palestinian national interests and state and institution building aims.