Several reports since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas have dealt with different scenarios for the future of Gaza after the end of the conflict that broke out following an attack launched by the movement on Israeli areas last October 7. In this context, Bloomberg quoted the Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhammad Shtayyeh, as saying that the Authority The Palestinian Authority is working with American officials on a plan to manage the Strip.
Shtayyeh said, from his headquarters in Ramallah, in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Thursday, that the best scenario is for Hamas, which currently runs the Gaza Strip, to become a junior partner of the Palestine Liberation Organization, helping to establish a new independent state that includes the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
As for the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, he said, in an interview with Reuters, “I support negotiations and that there be an international peace conference under international sponsorship, which must lead to a solution with international protection that leads to an independent, sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital.” .
Coinciding with the Prime Minister’s statements, the newspaper reported:The TimesLondon, on Thursday, said that Britain had sent a military team to the West Bank to help the Palestinian Authority take over the administration of the Gaza Strip.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told the London newspaper: “The Authority should take over responsibility after the war in an attempt to improve the lives of both sides.”
Shtayyeh added that there will be room for talks if Hamas is ready to reach an agreement and accept the political approach of the Palestine Liberation Organization, noting that the Palestinians should not be divided.
He also pointed out that Israel’s goal of completely eliminating Hamas is unrealistic.
Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas after it carried out an attack on Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 and detaining about 240. Most of the victims and hostages were civilians, including women and children, according to Israeli statistics.
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip says that more than 17,487 Palestinians have been killed and about 46,000 injured since Israel began bombing the Strip in response to the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on social media in response to Shtayyeh’s statements, “The truth is that this is what the Palestinian Authority is proposing, and according to my policy, which is that the Palestinian Authority is not the solution.”
Earlier this week, the newspaper reported,POLITICO“Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden spent weeks formulating a multi-stage plan for the future of the Gaza Strip after the war, ending with the Palestinian Authority eventually taking control of the Strip.
US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that after the ongoing war, Gaza must be unified with the West Bank, under a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority.
Blinken raised this issue during his repeated visits to the region since the outbreak of the war, on trips that included Israel, the Palestinian territories, and a number of major Arab capitals.
“People, tasks and behavior”
American officials did not reveal details about “reactivating” the current Palestinian Authority, which analysts see as “weak,” “corrupt,” and “in need of comprehensive changes.”
Director of the Jerusalem Center for Future Studies, Ahmed Rafiq Awad, said that the United States wants to see “a change in the personnel, tasks, and behavior” of the Palestinian Authority.
“The Next Day” in Gaza.. Washington faces “unattractive” options
The administration of US President Joe Biden faces questions without clear answers about the future of the Gaza Strip after the war, according to the American newspaper, The Washington Post.
This includes structural changes in the administrative apparatus of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian security services, enhancing transparency, accountability, and accountability, and increasing security coordination, as Awad said in his interview with the Al-Hurra channel website.
He added that this comes with the aim of the authority “being able to control the Gaza Strip and deal with the Palestinian people on the one hand, and Israel and the world on the other hand.”
According to Politico, any strategy proposed by the United States for the future of the sector will face several obstacles, including Israeli suspicions and Arab frustration, although regional players and analysts generally agree that Washington will need to play a decisive role in the post-war phase.
As for the main Arab countries, they could agree to the return of the Palestinian Authority to administer the Gaza Strip “provided that a comprehensive vision for a two-state solution is developed,” former Egyptian Parliament member Imad Gad told Al-Hurra website.
He added, “The return of authority to Gaza after its renewal must be without Palestinian lands remaining security- and politically administered by Israel.”
Israel is ‘divided’
But Israel is “divided” over the possibility of the Palestinian Authority managing the Gaza Strip, according to political analyst Joab Stern.
Speaking to Al-Hurra website, Stern said that the right, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “turned the issue into an internal Israeli discussion… because it wants to maintain its ruling camp that rejects the idea of negotiations with the Palestinians.”
He went on to say: “On the other hand, the Israeli center and left support the United States’ position on the necessity of strengthening the Palestinian Authority and giving it leadership of the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinian Authority was established after the Oslo Accords in 1993, and was intended to be a temporary administration on the way to establishing an independent Palestinian state.
It is dominated by the Fatah movement, excluding Hamas, and is run by Mahmoud Abbas, who is now 88 years old.
Report: Can the Palestinian Authority rule Gaza?
Standing tall and with a light beard, Palestinian Jihad Amtour, 32, a small business owner, stood outside his store, watching a march in support of several Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, whom Hamas says it is trying to release as part of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
US Vice President Kamala Harris discussed US ideas for planning the day after the end of the fighting in Gaza during a phone call with Abbas, which took place earlier this week.
Harris reiterated US support for the unification of the West Bank and Gaza under a renewed Palestinian authority, according to a statement issued by the White House.
“Unity of land and soil”
Gad said, “The authority exists without elections, most of its leaders are elderly, and there are no oversight bodies that guarantee accountability, transparency, and governance.”
He went on to say: “The Palestinian Authority must undergo a complete change and return the matter to the PLO, which is the internationally recognized authority” as a representative of the Palestinian people.
Gad explained that the PLO “is the one that must hold elections under international supervision to ensure the formation of a new government and parliament, elect a new president to power, and then begin the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinian Authority ran the Gaza Strip until 2007, when Hamas seized power by force of arms one year after winning the legislative elections. The last presidential elections were held in January 2005 and the legislative elections a year later.
The White House: Blinken will discuss the possibility of unifying the Palestinian Authority’s administration of the West Bank and Gaza
A senior White House official confirmed in a press conference on Friday that US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will discuss during his visit to the Jordanian capital, Amman, the possibility of unifying the Palestinian Authority’s administration of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority announced the holding of presidential and legislative elections in 2021 before deciding to cancel them on the pretext that Israel did not allow voting to be held in East Jerusalem.
Awad said, “To modernize the (Palestinian) political system, there must be unity of land and territory, a return to the ballot box, and respect for the election results,” adding that “even if there are no elections, there must be factional consensus so that we can have European and American support and implicit Israeli approval.”
“The lack of respect for the results of the 2006 elections became one of the reasons for the explosion of the situation after matters accumulated to the point where we reached this devastating war,” Awad said.
Process ‘takes years’
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords in 1993 as a basis leading to the implementation of the two-state solution after agreeing on what became known as the “final solution issues.”
Under the Oslo Accords, Israel partially withdrew from areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and their administration was taken over by the Palestinian Authority, led by the late Yasser Arafat, who returned to the Palestinian territories.
Awad believes that the Palestinian Authority “is not a foreign body” in the Gaza Strip and “is still popular” there.
He said that it “considers itself responsible for the Gaza Strip and did not abandon its responsibility (after Hamas took control) and was paying the salaries of hospitals, social affairs, and fuel.”
Abbas sets a condition for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during his meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, on Sunday, linked the Authority’s return to administering the Gaza Strip to a “comprehensive political solution” to the conflict, according to Agence France-Presse.
But Stern stressed the need to “carry out the necessary reforms in the Palestinian Authority before managing the sector,” describing it as “weak and riddled with corruption.”
He said, “The Authority in its current form cannot be a reliable system in Gaza and must undergo comprehensive reforms first.”
He believed that “the return of authority to Gaza and the attempt to establish a strong government there is the only possible alternative to the current situation after the expulsion of Hamas from power.”
However, restoring the Palestinian Authority to Gaza’s rule remains an issue that may take time until the war ends and the required reforms are carried out in this entity.
Gad said that rebuilding the Palestinian Authority is a process that takes years, and it may take “two to three years.”
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2023-12-08 17:18:08
