While the broader Middle East conflict between Israel, the United States, and Iran dominates headlines, Palestinian communities find themselves caught in the crossfire with their governing authority increasingly pushed aside from key decisions affecting their future.
The West Bank continues to experience intense security pressures, Gaza’s political direction remains unclear, and the Palestinian Authority appears to have little influence over the developments that will shape both territories.
Two regional experts provide contrasting perspectives on the current situation. Hiba Husseini, an attorney who previously served as legal counsel to Palestinian negotiators during peace talks, and Kobi Michael, a political researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, disagree on the implications but both acknowledge that Palestinian issues are being swept along by a broader regional conflict controlled by outside powers.
According to Husseini, the most pressing concern is the daily insecurity facing Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank, where civilian protections are minimal and freedom of movement remains severely limited.
“This is not an Israeli–American retaliation against Iran. It’s an attack on Iran, and the retaliation was made by Iran, which is affecting not only our lives but also those of the entire region,” she told The Media Line.
Husseini emphasized that the threat encompasses both physical and mental health impacts. The West Bank lacks protective shelters, leaving residents vulnerable to debris from missile defense systems while also subjecting them to the psychological stress of witnessing warfare in their vicinity.
“The situation in the West Bank is very difficult because we don’t have shelters in Palestine,” she said. “If you have parts falling on the West Bank and on any part of the West Bank, it will cause damage, of course, and may even cause a death. We are not very safe. Also, the situation is very difficult because we hear everything, we feel everything, and we see everything.”
The Palestinian Authority has implemented crisis measures including school and university closures, online learning transitions, and advisories for residents to remain indoors. However, these actions highlight the constraints on Palestinian self-governance, as Israeli military checkpoints continue controlling inter-area travel and West Bank operations persist despite the Iranian conflict.
“You still have daily incursions in the West Bank by the Israeli military,” she said. “Even though they’re busy fighting Iran, the troops that usually are present in the West Bank have remained in the West Bank; they’re still going into incursions in the northern West Bank—Nablus, Jenin—regularly.”
Husseini argued that for most Palestinians, immediate concerns stem from local circumstances rather than the wider regional military confrontation.
“There is fear, more fear, ironically and sadly, more fear from the settlers and from the protection they receive from the army, more so than from missiles or parts of missiles falling on the West Bank on our heads,” she said.
The Palestinian Authority’s budget crisis compounds this sense of insecurity. While the authority continues managing aspects of daily governance, it operates with diminished resources. Since much of its funding relies on tax collection by Israel under Oslo Accords arrangements, recurring delays or withholding of these funds has created difficulties in paying employee wages and maintaining public services.
Husseini noted that the broader crisis has intensified economic hardships for Palestinians already struggling financially.
“It has already affected our economics, this situation. We’re not earning, so revenues are not coming in,” she said. “There is no welfare system in Palestine. … There is no unemployment support. So it’s a very difficult situation financially for people to sustain themselves for a long time.”
She also contended that the Palestinian Authority has been politically marginalized, excluded from regional diplomatic efforts and discussions about Gaza’s future governance.
“They have been sidelined,” she said. “The US and Israel don’t want them to participate in the technocratic committee or anything related to Gaza. … They don’t seek their input. … They don’t even have a role to play in the West Bank at the moment.”
This marginalization is particularly evident in Gaza, where the proposed technocratic government intended to assume control following the ceasefire has not yet been established. Hamas maintains its military presence, while local armed factions reportedly receiving Israeli support have emerged in portions of the territory. Without consolidated governance, issues of reconstruction, public services, and security remain unaddressed.
Michael views the current situation through a different lens. He believes Iran serves as the central player in the regional conflict system, and the confrontation with Tehran could fundamentally transform the region beyond Palestinian territories.
“I think that Israel perceives the event as a very historical opportunity to reshape the regional architecture in its entirety,” Michael told The Media Line.
He noted that Gulf nations remain cautious about openly supporting Israel and the United States due to concerns about potential abandonment if Washington fails to see the conflict through to completion.
“The Gulf countries are very hesitant when it comes to Iran because they don’t rely on the Americans,” he said. “They are afraid that if they join the American-Israeli coalition now … the Americans will not finish the job, and then they will remain there with Iran, which is the wounded lion.”
Michael characterized the military operation as carefully coordinated and potentially transformative in its impact on Iran.
“It’s a very well-planned campaign, a very clear division of war between both sides,” he said. “The accumulation of the damages that are caused to Iran is very significant. … Iran after the war … will not be Iran that we used to know.”
However, he emphasized that the crucial question concerns what happens after the military phase transitions to political decision-making.
“The big question … is what is going to be on the day after,” he said. “On the day that President Trump reaches the conclusion that he won the war … what will remain here in the region?”
This uncertainty also applies to the Palestinian Authority, whose diminished role Michael attributes less to deliberate exclusion than to being overshadowed by larger developments.
“They became very marginal,” he said. “Nobody now has the patience to deal with the Palestinians because everybody understands that we are facing a tectonic event that will change the entire world.”
Nevertheless, Michael acknowledged that the West Bank situation is becoming increasingly problematic within Israel, particularly due to violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers.
“When it comes to the West Bank and to the brutal, violent, and the terrorist behavior of some of the Israeli settlers—we are talking about a marginal group—but unfortunately this marginal group is very vocal, very violent, and very damaging,” he said.
He suggested there is growing awareness in Israel that this issue requires attention.
“I think that there is an understanding among the Israeli leadership that enough is enough in this regard, and measures will be taken,” he noted.
Recent violence in communities like Abu Falah, where three Palestinians were reportedly killed in settler-related incidents within recent days, continues escalating West Bank tensions even as regional focus shifts toward Iran.
For Husseini, this convergence of pressures has created a situation where Palestinians face multiple simultaneous crises: weakened institutions, economic difficulties, settler violence, movement limitations, and uncertainty about Gaza’s future.
“It’s a disastrous formula for the Palestinians,” Husseini said. “A bankrupt and sidelined PA, an uncertain future for Gaza, and restrictions also in East Jerusalem. It’s a grim situation for us.”
The difference between these two assessments is striking. Michael envisions a regional realignment underway that could shift Middle Eastern power dynamics. Husseini sees Palestinian challenges deepening as attention turns elsewhere. Currently, both viewpoints align on one aspect: the Iranian conflict has not settled Palestinian questions but has instead embedded them more deeply within a broader regional struggle while leaving fundamental issues unresolved.
