Abbas was one of the architects of the Oslo peace agreement with Israel in 1993, which revived hopes for the establishment of a Palestinian state, but the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is under the administration of his authority, is gradually diminishing his legitimacy.
But in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, US President Joe Biden clearly said that he wants to see the Palestinian Authority, which has been run by Abbas since 2005, take over responsibility in Gaza once the conflict ends after it is restructured, and unify the administration of Gaza with the West Bank.
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Abbas on Friday, becoming the latest senior US official to urge him to embrace rapid change.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters after meeting with the Palestinian leader in late November that they discussed the need for reforms to combat corruption, empower civil society, and support a free press.
Washington’s proposals
Three Palestinian sources and a senior official from the region familiar with the talks said that Washington’s closed-room proposals also include Abbas relinquishing some of his control over power.
Palestinian and regional sources said that, according to the proposals presented, Abbas could appoint a deputy, hand over more executive powers to the prime minister, and introduce new figures into the leadership.
The White House did not provide answers to questions from Reuters. The US State Department said that leadership choices are a matter for the Palestinian people and did not provide clarification of the steps necessary to restructure the authority.
In an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, Abbas said that he is ready to introduce amendments to the Palestinian Authority with new leaders and hold elections that have been suspended since Hamas won the last elections in 2006 and exclude the Palestinian Authority from the administration of Gaza, provided that there is a binding international agreement that would Leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
This is something that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition refuse to support.
In the interview last week when asked about the American proposals, Abbas said that the problem is not changing Palestinian politicians and forming a new government, but rather the problem is the policies of the Israeli government.
While Abbas may acknowledge that his long rule is coming to an end, he and other Palestinian leaders say the United States, Israel’s top strategic ally, should pressure Netanyahu’s government to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
An informed source in Washington reported that Abbas secretly expressed his openness to some American proposals to reform the Palestinian Authority, including injecting “new blood” with technocratic skills and granting the Prime Minister’s Office more executive powers.
While American officials stress that they have not proposed any names to Abbas, regional sources and diplomats say that some in Washington and Israel prefer Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, as a potential deputy and successor in the future.
On the other hand, a senior US administration official, who requested anonymity due to the secret nature of the talks, reported that Biden’s aides are quietly urging Israel’s leaders to abandon their opposition to the Palestinian Authority, after it was restructured and assumed a leadership role in Gaza after the conflict.
Israel’s stubbornness
International condemnation of the Israeli attack has increased in light of the rising death toll, which health authorities in Gaza said approached 19,000 on Friday, but Netanyahu is determined that the war will continue until Hamas is eliminated, the hostages are returned, and Israel is secured from future attacks.
Israeli forces invaded Gaza in response to Hamas’ surprise cross-border attack on southern Israel more than two months ago. Israel says the Hamas attack killed 1,200 and took 240 hostages. On Thursday, Sullivan discussed with Netanyahu steps to transform the Israeli attacks on Gaza into less severe operations focused on high-value targets.
The senior American official also said that the United States informed Israel that the Palestinian Authority’s security forces must be present in Gaza after the war, as they are now present in parts of the West Bank.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there is a disagreement with his American ally over the Palestinian Authority’s rule of Gaza. He added that Gaza “will not be Hamas-istan or Fatah-istan.”
American officials believe that it is possible for Abbas to regain some confidence among the Palestinians if he can demonstrate that he has eradicated corruption, nurtured a new generation of leaders, mobilized foreign aid for the reconstruction of Gaza after the war, and received more support from abroad to establish a Palestinian state.
During his interview with Reuters, Abbas called on the United States to sponsor an international peace conference to agree on the final steps to establish a Palestinian state. This gathering may be held along the lines of the 1991 Madrid Conference, which was held by US President George H. W. Bush after the outbreak of the Gulf War between 1990 and 1991.
A senior American official said that the idea of the conference had been discussed with partners, but the proposal was still in a preliminary stage.
Abbas and other Palestinian leaders believe that the United States must put greater pressure on Israel to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state consisting of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Abbas told Reuters that the United States “is the only power capable of ordering Israel to stop this war” and fulfill its obligations, but he said it is not doing so.
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2023-12-16 16:03:15
