It was the closest the Palestinians ever came to threatening to dissolve the Palestinian Authority (PA). In December 2012, as a response to the worsening political process with Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "If there is no progress in the negotiations, I will call Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and tell him: 'My dear friend, I call upon you to boycott the presidential headquarters in Ramallah. Come take my place. I shall give you the keys and you will be responsible for the Palestinians!'"

Soon after, the Palestinian and Israeli sides started a marathon of intensive negotiations under US auspices. However, pessimism prevailed among Palestinians amid leaks about the stalemate in talks and the possibility that they might fail, despite the upbeat statements of the US sponsor.

In a political reading of the expected failure of negotiations, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research issued a detailed study on the implications of the collapse of the PA. The study, titled "The Day After: The Initiative for the Collapse of the Palestinian Authority," was put forth in collaboration with the US Middle East Project and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center.

The study was based on research papers prepared by experts in several areas, workshops and interviews. The preparation of the study took six months, during which 10 groups were formed, each including three experts, academics, senior businessmen, former and current ministers and public figures. The groups prepared 10 papers, addressing 10 different sectors, which were discussed in 12 workshops attended by 155 political and academic figures.