It is difficult to impossible to defend the Palestinian Authority and it's current leadership. The fact Mahmoud Abbas remains in power and rules with a iron fist is further reasons to be disgusted with how the Palestinians have allowed themselves to be dragged down a dead end road. There is nothing good that can come out of a dictatorship. There is nothing good to come out of tyrannical rule, be it by Fatah or Hamas. The tyranny secularists or Islamist's engage in is two sides of the same coin. They both want to maintain a grip on power and the people be damned.
The Trump administration is in the process of presenting a plan that they argue is aimed at finding a final resolution to this seemingly intractable and insoluble conflict. A plan which the Palestinians have rejected before they even heard it. I don't dismiss the fact this plan will be co-written by Zionist hardliners - be they Jewish-American or Israeli officials - and undoubtedly be designed to benefit Israel the most. This is a fact of life when you have the United States acting as an Israeli puppet. Nevertheless, to dismiss the lessons of the past would be a grave error for the Palestinians. Each time there is a deal of some kind or an opportunity to improve the lives of the Palestinian people - which ALWAYS falls short of Palestinian demands and aspirations - but nevertheless it is something much better than what their so called leaders have been able to achieve by means of violence, rejection or resistance - hard to see why this time around when there is a serious deal in the works by Trump that the Palestinians would fall in the same trap that they always fall into by missing the only train available. In 1939, had they negotiated a deal with the Brits, could have salvaged something then. Had they accepted UN resolution 181, a Palestinian state would exist today. Had they negotiated after the 6 day war, no settlements then, they could have gotten most if not all land held after the war. This insanity continues with President Carter, when they refused to take part in negotiations. Egypt got all their land back and billions in aid while the Palestinians continue to suffer and got nothing. The Clinton era saw more of the same with the Palestinians. The reality is they cannot and will not ever be in a position of strength when it comes to negotiations with Israel and get everything they want. Their position has dwindled over the years to the point of irrelevance. This is because of failed leadership not seizing the moment when it presented itself. They need to start thinking about their people and what is possible over what is not ideologically palatable.
It is possible the Palestinians can improve their lives dramatically if they abandon hard-line positions on land and statehood. They can reap enormous benefits by trying to work with Israel - rather than fight with them over land that is already lost.
