The Trump administration has dealt another blow to the the flailing Palestinian Authority (PA) in the form of more budget cuts, this time to the PA’s security forces. It is understood that future funding is contingent upon the PA accepting Trump’s “peace plan” that was released two weeks ago, which they have categorically rejected.

President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” much like his presidency, is a morbid joke. Sadly, however, the punchline running centerstage in this theater of the absurd is set to come at the expense of the Palestinians.

For over a decade Israel and Egypt prevented Palestinians from exiting Gaza by tightly controlling crossings that lead outside of the besieged strip. Palestinians now say that another block they face in traveling abroad is from their own government who have used a quiet policy to deny travel documents over the last decade.  

While electrical blackouts are common across the West Bank, scheduled outages are due to continue as the Palestinian power distributor has not paid overdue bills from the Israeli energy provider since 2014.

Trump’s acceptance of the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank actually hastens the end of Zionism’s discriminatory ideology. What had always been the reality will be on full display for the world to see: Israel is an apartheid state. And the call for simply equality will be Israel’s ultimate defeat.

The Palestinian Authority has blocked access to dozens of news websites and social media accounts in the occupied West Bank in its ongoing crackdown of opposition voices and those critical of Mahmoud Abbas’ presidency.

Mahmoud Abbas called for the first general elections in 13 years. However, many analysts and Palestinian citizens remain skeptical fair elections will be held any time soon. 

Palestinian Authority leaders say they are moving towards cutting ties with Israel over its “war crimes” committed in Sur Bahir on Monday, when Israeli authorities demolished 10 buildings on PA-controlled land. But critics told Mondoweiss they don’t expect much more than “empty threats” from the PA.

The Palestinian Authority is in crisis, and high rates of poverty and unemployment, few prospects of free and democratic presidential elections, and the unveiling of the widely unpopular American “deal of the century” around the corner, will only exacerbate the already dire situation. “The collapse of the PA is definitely something we could see happening, especially if this financial and political situation worsens,” Palestine Policy Fellow at Al-Shabaka, Dr. Yara Hawari, told Mondoweiss.

On Thursday evening Jared Kushner avoided confirming if his plan, which has been kept secret, will include a Palestinian state but spoke at length about an “economic visions for the region” and a “business plan” to address “what’s been holding” Palestinians “back economically.”