PA officials announced on Tuesday that they received assurances that Israel was “committed” to upholding its end of agreements with the Palestinians, and that the decision to resume coordination was made following “international talks” being conducted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. There is speculation that the impending change in U.S. administrations, along with the severe financial pressure the Palestinian Authority finds itself under, is what motivated Palestinian leadership to resume relations with Israel.

Elections in the U.S. can have massive impacts across the world. So, what do the recent results mean for us in Gaza?

Saeb Erekat, 65, chief Palestinian negotiator and longtime leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), passed away on Tuesday following a month-long battle with COVID-19.

46 years ago, the Arab League led the way in recognizing the PLO as “the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” but today those same states are leading the drive toward normalization with Israel. The Arab League appears to have abandoned the Palestinians.

Palestinian leadership bears responsibility for accumulated diplomatic failures. The public’s confidence cannot be restored without serious intervention, including dissolving the Palestinian Authority and reforming the PLO.

Forget the normalization efforts of Gulf state oligarchies. As the South African struggle against apartheid showed it is the power of ordinary people that matters.

After more than a decade of political strife, rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to hold elections for the first time in Palestine in nearly 15 years.

The PA has lost its trust within the Palestinian community, and the international community is either silent with regards to annexation or complicit. The best chance to stop annexation is through opposition from within Israel led by the Joint List, which can truly bring it to a halt.

Permits for Gaza’s sickest patients to receive treatment in Israel and the West Bank ended abruptly on May 19 when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced an end to coordination with Israel. Since then two infants have died in the Gaza Strip awaiting permits for medical treatment in Israel, a tragedy that Palestinians anxiously fear could expand in the coming weeks.

Until the Palestinian Authority hands over the keys to the PLO, Benjamin Netanyahu will, tragically, remain the only relevant party determining the fate of Palestine and her people.