The Palestinian political scene has been preoccupied since the end of July with the succession of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the subsequent concerns and worrying speculations about the future of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank in Abbas’ potential absence. There are concerns among Palestinians that the PA will be emptied of its political content, and that it will gradually be transformed into expanded municipal councils that fulfill service roles, like before the establishment of the PA in 1994.

This scenario of the PA turning into municipal councils would stand in the way of the establishment of a Palestinian state, as Palestinians consider the PA to be a prelude to a future state. Meanwhile, Israel would gradually retake control of Palestinians’ lives, with the efforts since the establishment of the PA going down the drain.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and former minister of public works and housing, told Al-Monitor, “Israel is seeking to make Palestinians live in cantons and secluded areas in the absence of political components and the PA has become merely a name that does not span beyond an expanded municipality.”

Maj. Gen. Mohammad al-Masri, former officer at the Palestinian General Intelligence and head of the Palestinian Center for Strategic Studies, warned Aug. 15 against an Israeli plan to weaken the PA. In the upcoming stage, Israel will deal with municipalities and Palestinian parties in the West Bank directly, thus weakening the PA and costing it much of its legitimacy.