The one thing the Trump administration has accomplished in the Middle East is reducing the the Palestinian Authority from a putative government in waiting to a collection of obvious ass-clowns who have no intention of acting in the best interests of their people. Earlier in the year, when Trump announced that the US was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas lost his falafel.

Now it is the turn of Saeb Erekat. Erekat is a “senior official” of uncertain portfolio. His stock in trade is spreading lies and disinformation about Israel while fomenting terrorism. In short, he could be any member of the Palestinian Authority. Erekat recently let fly with this:

Erekat claimed that such remarks [i.e. Haley hammering Abbas over his Antisemitism, conspiracy theories, terrorist sympathies, and general lack of manliness] amounted to a “coup” against the “Palestinian political system,” and that the U.S. and Israel wanted to “undermine the Palestinian national project.”

“Nikki Haley needs to shut up and realize that the Palestinian leadership is not the problem,” he said. “Instead, the problem is the Israeli occupation and the policies it continues to pursue. I’m not saying that we don’t make mistakes; every society and every government makes mistakes.”

Actually the problem is Palestinian intransigence and violence.

Get ready hear more of this. The Palestinians are under a degree of pressure they’ve never experienced. The threat of Iranian adventurism has made Israel more valuable to the Arab world as a bulwark than as a whipping boy for the Arab street. The Arab street, when not whipped to a frenzy by Arab governments, has shown itself to be totally unconcerned about the Palestinians. Jerusalem is not the official capital of Israel. Population density in Israeli settlements is increasing creating “facts on the ground.” The US has cut back significantly on US funding of the UNRWA and will probably cut funds to the Palestinian Authority. These murderous cretins are desperate and it shows.