I agree framing it as ‘israeli mercenaries’ is disingenuous, although the PA police do work under the Israeli military. I also agree that funding for humanitarian aid and social services is critical, although this system is designed to utilize that aid at the expense of Palestinian emancipation.

The largest part of the PA’s budget goes towards the police force (that work directly under the Israeli military), which is responsible not for protecting Palestinians from Israeli settler violence, but instead to violently repress any Palestinian resistance against Israeli settler colonialist violence.

Additionally, control over tax revenue (which is the vast majority of the PA revenue) is not the only way Israel controls the economy of the West Bank. They also keep part of the revenue from VATs and income tax, taken out before the tax revenue they also withhold. As Israel controls all aspects of imports, exports, land, and resources in the West Bank (including Area A); they restrict many critical supplies for development, demolish Palestinian buildings and restrict their land use, and implement closures of exports at will. All this leads to a deficit for the PA even after international aid. Much of which is also conditional and focused on increasing security, at the expense of public development, as the rest goes to immediate aid. Of which, is still dramatically below what’s needed.

The situation of the West Bank has been created in such a way that Israel is able to continue it’s settler Colonialism unabated by local resistance, which is cracked down on by the PA. While international aid to the PA is utilized primarily to continue the suppression of resistance, while providing less aid than what’s needed due to the occupation and stifling public development. It’s made the West Bank entirely dependent on international aid and Israel for survival, while also propping up the continued repression of resistance and erosion of 3 two-state solution. For all intents and purposes, the PA is an extension of Israeli occupation. Israel is in complete control, they have military domination over the entirety of the West Bank.

They vast majority of the major suppliers of aid to the PA are in collaboration and support of Israel and the US. Many of the western countries providing aid support Israel and don’t even recognize Palestine. Many of the Middle Eastern countries have a long history of collaborating with Israel’s and the US’ interests for their own financial gain.