There are three possible explanations for why the new government is the same as the one it supposedly replaced: Either PM Hamdallah was mistaken when he resigned, and then recognized the error of his ways and apologized (as was reported a few weeks ago-- and denied by Hamdallah).Or President Abbas – as the government spokesman made clear – granted his Prime Minister full powers –which is highly unlikely, as the composition of the government remained the same, with the same two deputies still without portfolios. Moreover, it is not up to the President to grant the PM full powers, as the powers vested in the PM are laid clearly out in the constitution.

 

Alternatively, the PM could have realized that the political order had reverted to its earlier form: a 'presidential system,' much as it was before the position of Prime Minister was invented expressly to emasculate the late Yasser Arafat who had become – in Israel's eyes – an 'obstacle to peace.' This was before the Israelis decided to physically liquidate Arafat, which they subsequently did.

 

And since the need to change the political order into a presidential-parliamentary system had lapsed, taking with it the need for having a PM vested with full powers, and since the Presidential Council had become redundant because of the split (between Fateh and Hamas) leaving all powers in the hands of the President, there is no longer any need for a Prime Minister with real power who could compete with the elected president (despite the fact that his mandate lapsed more than four years ago).

 

The third possibility is the most likely explanation for what happened. In fact, what took place was entirely natural given the unnatural and totally illegal conditions prevailing in Palestinian politics. The PM, who is designated by the president, is supposed to be accountable only to the president, who can dismiss him at will. Under such conditions, the PM is merely a government employee.

 

If this were indeed the case, why not amend the constitution instead of violating it without even mentioning the fact? The PLC (Palestinian Legislative Council) is paralyzed, and the political blocs in the West Bank are given no role whatsoever, not even in a consultative capacity. As for Fateh’s Central Committee, it has no authority to form governments or call them to account. Besides, the Committee has enough on its hands already, and has long stopped interfering in such 'trivialities,' preferring instead to involve itself exclusively in 'major' issues such as refuting [Fateh old timer] Ibrahim Hamami's accusations of treason against Arafat.

 

For its part, the PLO’s Executive Committee has never involved itself with forming governments, despite the fact that the PA is supposed to be an organ of the PLO. But the PLO has apparently accepted its fate, especially as its budget has been drastically reduced. If the PLO actually began to act as the Palestinians’ higher point of reference [as it is legally], it could be deprived of its budget altogether. Besides, the PLO’s Executive Committee has for over two months been preoccupied with the issue of the resumed peace talks with Israel – a decision that was taken without reference to it, despite the fact that it is supposed to be the authority that deals with such issues.

 

But all this is unimportant. The second Hamdallah government has been given a lease of life until the end of the year. And if it needs more time, it may take all the time it needs.

 

I am unsure whether the fact that no one took any notice of Hamdallah's second incarnation was to his advantage or otherwise. No consultations took place (unless such consultations with parliamentary blocs, factions, parties, clans, and tribes, took place in secret). Perhaps secrecy is the fate of the Palestinian people. Since peace talks are taking place in secret, why not the consultations on forming a government as well?

 

What is odd is that government ministers – and those standing behind them – have not reacted to the momentous events taking place in Palestine and the region. Those events, in Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere, not to mention Israel's plans to demolish Jerusalem's al-Aqsa and build the Jewish temple in its place, as well as the measures it has introduced throughout the occupied West Bank, have reduced the government to its true small size – a result of U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's decision (taken after consulting with Quartet Envoy Tony Blair and Israeli PM Netanyahu) to limit its remit to three issues: politics, economics, and security.

 

Everyone knows what this means. It means that the government would oversee security in exchange for economic bribes. The only role for politics is that related to the resumption of the peace process with no point of reference, no guarantees, and no strong cards. The Palestinians are supposed to continue to believe that the United States still holds 99 percent of the cards – despite the fact that it is an empire in decline.

 

When the United States was in its prime, it blindly supported Israel. This is only expected to grow, now that Israel's value for the United States has increased exponentially thanks to the changes brought by the 'Arab Spring,' which proved that Israel is America's only reliable ally in the region.

 

Twenty years after the Oslo Accords, which kicked off our slide to catastrophe rather than leading to statehood, no solution is in sight. The occupation is set to continue, and the Palestinians are not about to found an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. There is no solution in sight for the refugee problem.

 

The fact that we won observer-state status at the UN, and because of Israel's violation of all it commitments vis-à-vis Oslo, we have no alternative but to chart a new course. Bilateral talks under sole American supervision have proved futile. We have to abandon the talks as well as the commitments we made under Oslo.

 

We must also abandon the charade of forming new governments, especially as those governments are powerless and can only manages the lives of some of the Palestinians living under occupation.