In December, when the German government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, lost the confidence of the Bundestag, not only did it spark a general election, it also provoked the fear of a deepening international crisis on top of the domestic one.

There is a popular reality show on UK television called “A New Life in the Sun,” in which professionals help people who long to escape the gray British weather to find a home and a job, or even start a business, in sunnier climes.

Changes in the UK are slow in coming. It is a country more comfortable with evolution than revolution and even the political earthquake of leaving the EU, better known as Brexit, was slow burning, though it still left scorched earth behind it.

It is a sad irony that during this, the most acute period in Palestinian history, when there is such an urgent need for a strong and capable Palestinian Authority, one that could unite the governance over the West Bank and Gaza, it is barely functioning.