Trump Has His Ceasefire, Now the Test: Do we really know or care what Palestinians want?
October 17 AD2025
The USA has brought together a coalition to end the Gaza War. Israel was facing increasing isolation and while the Netanyahu government is trying the spin the cease fire as a victory of the IDF, the reality is Israel was facing the prospect of unprecedented sanctions. The USA, led by President Donald John Trump stopped the fighting, but Gaza remains disputed between Palestinian factions and not administratively unified with the Palestinian Authority which runs the West Bank areas where Palestinians have some autonomy. The question remains as to how to bring the Palestinians together before they can sit down with Israel and create a permanent solution.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) was created in 1994 under the Oslo Accords as the governing body of the autonomous regions in the West Bank. It holds de jure authority over Gaza but has exercised no de facto control there since 2007, when Hamas seized the strip by force. The PA operates under a Basic Law, an interim constitution. According to this constitution the Palestinian president is directly elected to a four-year term, limited to two terms, like the US President. He commands the security forces, manages foreign relations, can veto legislation, and may issue decrees when the legislature is not in session. The prime minister, appointed by the president, and the council of ministers hold primary executive authority but remain subject to confidence from the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) the parliament.
On paper, this division of powers could function, it looks similar to the French system. In practice, it has failed. The PLC has 132 members elected to four-year terms. A 2005 amendment created a mixed system for the 2006 vote. Hamas won 74 seats, a majority with about 44 percent of the vote, while Fatah the previous governing faction, won 41 percent. In 2007 the Basic Law shifted to full proportional representation. But, by then civil war broke the government. The outbreak of Fatah-Hamas violence led President Mahmoud Abbas to dismiss the government, declaring a state of emergency, and presidential rule by decree. During the fighting Gaza fell to Hamas and the authority of the PA in the strip was extinguished. Mahmoud Abbas won the presidency back in January 2005 with more than 60 percent of the vote. It was a four year term but with fighting the promised elections did not arrive. Likewise there have been no new votes for the PLC. How can he still lawfully be the president if his term should have ended in 2009? How can anyone claim either Fatah or Hamas represents the present will of the Palestinian people with no elections since 2006?
This is not a technicality. This is hitting the mute button on the peopleâs voice. The truth is simple and hard: we do not know what the Palestinians really want or what deal they would accept with Israel, because Palestinian factions have denied them the right to say so. The central problem is not hidden. The Palestinian people do not have a legitimate, representative authority that can speak for them and make binding decisions. Some diplomatic players may want to just make a deal, but long term deals require public buy-in.
This week I hosted a Palestinian scholar and an Israeli scholar in one of my classes. The conversation was real, and raw. No cameras, no press, just honest discussion with American students, future leaders of the nation. No scripts. Just students and two witnesses. The Palestinian scholar was clear: âwe have the right the resist our occupationâ and he is correct, that principle is a cornerstone of the American tradition. However he was equally clear that âHamas is not the right kind of resistance and they have committed treason against the Palestinian people.â That moral clarity matters. Hamas brought calamity on the Palestinians. Its leaders should face judgment by the Palestinian people as enemies of society. He wants them put on trial. That day should come. Before it does, the people need a representative body capable of addressing the options for peace on their behalf.
I argue that because of the hard choices ahead to make a lasting peace, the USA proposed International Stabilization Force will need to secure the public square to allow normal politics to return to the Palestinian street. Palestinians need a summit or constituent assembly to form a popular government with a clear mandate. Everything else is commentary. If we care, then the USA should care enough to insist on the only path that honors their right to choose.
Consider there are only four options to consider for the future of the conflict.
The first is the status quo. That is not a real solution anymore, the limbo and dynamic paralysis ended on October 7th 2023. The frozen conflict cannot hold because Israel feels too threatened after Oct 7, and the world is not going to let up on the pressure. It is not sustainable and if the parties tried to keep the situation as is, it would backfire. Probably into option two.
The second option is to go back to war. That path promises only more funerals, more refugees, and a deeper moral debt that no nation can afford. And Israel holds all the military cards and will not be defeated in the field by the Palestinians.
