Controversy and consternation surround Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to participate in the Islamic Military Alliance, a Saudi-led coalition of 34 countries formed Dec. 15 to fight terrorism. 

According to some citizens, analysts and politicians, any military force affiliated with the official Palestinian regime in Ramallah should be tasked with defending Palestinians, particularly since they have been subjected to numerous attacks living under Israeli occupation since 1948.

Hassan Khreisheh, second deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, told Al-Monitor that the PLO is the organization entitled to decide whether Palestine should join the coalition.

However, he added, “All of the Palestinian institutions are inactive, and [Abbas] is the only decision-maker now and is the one who decided in this matter. He is required to reconsider his calculations, because the Palestinian people will only agree to fight one enemy, namely the Israeli occupation, which is killing our sons and is Judaizing Jerusalem. Our battle and all of our alliances are against the occupation. Going beyond the border and joining alliances is ironic and disgusting.”