An Alliance Devoid of Compass, Creed, or Principle: When Palestine Becomes a Commodity in the Marketplace of Influence and Elections
The electoral alliance currently being discussed—comprising forces with conflicting histories, rhetoric, and interests—cannot be viewed as a national achievement simply because it bears the name of Palestine.
The Palestinian cause is neither a peg upon which to hang contradictions, nor a bridge for power brokers to reach authority, nor an electoral card to be played when convenient and discarded once the ballot boxes close.
When parties unite—not around a clear national project, but rather by a shared adversary or a mutual desire to carve up influence—the people have every right to ask: Where is Palestine in all this? Where is the program? Where is the national interest? Or has the cause merely become a banner to dress up an alliance driven by electoral calculations?
Most alarming is that some figures dominating the Palestinian political landscape treat the people as nothing more than a statistic in the ballot box. They speak in the people’s name, trade on their suffering, and raise slogans of resistance and patriotism, only to revert to their own self-interest when the battle for positions and seats begins.
This is not so much a battle for Palestine as it is—in part—a battle over who holds the keys to influence in Palestine’s name.
This is not to say that all parties to this alliance share the same stance, history, or level of responsibility; yet, political alliances are ultimately judged by the program they produce, not by the number of names seated at the table. If the program is absent and the cause is reduced to a mere rhetorical common denominator, the result will not be the liberation of Palestinian decision-making, but rather the recycling of the same old elites.
The Palestinian people do not need an alliance that gathers contradictions under one roof and then expects them to applaud. What is needed is honest leadership that clearly articulates the path forward: What will we do? How will we confront the occupation? How will we safeguard independent national decision-making? How will we halt corruption and cronyism? How will we end the internal division? And how will we restore the dignity of the Palestinian individual—the one who has borne the sole cost of the political class’s failure?
Turning every election cycle into an occasion to reshuffle alliances, trade accusations, and carve up spheres of influence—while the ordinary citizen remains crushed under the weight of occupation, division, and poverty—does not constitute a national project, regardless of the slogans raised in its name.
Palestine belongs neither to Hamas, Fatah, Dahlan, nor Al-Qudwa—nor to any single faction or figure. Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people. Anyone who exploits the cause for personal influence or factional gain has no right to ask the public to believe that their alliance is the path to salvation.
This moment demands a genuine national project, not merely a new marketplace for alliances. It calls for men and women who place Palestine above the pursuit of power, the people above the organization, and the national interest above personal calculations.
Otherwise, we will not be witnessing political change; instead, we will see a recycling of the same faces, the same vested interests, and the same exploitation of the cause—simply under the banner of a new electoral coalition.
التاريخ 21-8-2026
