The Palestinian Authority, ready to retake Gaza under administration

2023-12-27 17:19:38, Kosova & Bota CNA

As fighting continues in Gaza, Israelis and Palestinians are considering what steps to take after the war ends. The Palestinian Authority said it is ready to take over Gaza. But as Voice of America correspondent Linda Gradstein reports, Israel says the Palestinian Authority cannot have any role in the future administration of Gaza.

As fighting between Israel and Hamas continues in Gaza and the death toll continues to rise, the international community is increasingly calling for a ceasefire. But it is not clear who will take control of Gaza and its 2.2 million people, many of whom have been living in poverty since before the war began.

"I don't think there is a consensus between the United States, Israel and the Arab countries in the region and the international community on what should be done with Gaza after the war. Who will govern Gaza?" , says Mkhaimer Abu Sada, professor of political science at Al-Azhar University, in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden has said he would like to see a revitalized Palestinian Authority, which would take control of Gaza after the end of the war. But according to polls, 80-90% of Palestinians do not support the Palestinian Authority and its 88-year-old leader, Mahmoud Abbas. The authority is seen as corrupt and inefficient in the West Bank it controls and as lacking the capacity to govern Gaza. However, some Palestinian Authority officials are prepared to return to Gaza, 16 years after Hamas ousted them in a bloody coup.

"I say that it is the right of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority to return to the Gaza Strip. Am I going to Mozambique? I will go to my country and to my people. And even if it gets destroyed, it's my responsibility. But it must be within the framework of a comprehensive political vision that has support in the region and the international scene" , says Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Palestinian analysts say that 17 years after the last parliamentary elections, the Palestinians must elect more qualified leaders to unite them.

"The international community is looking for an administration that would offer technocratic levels of governance, such as health, education. But that doesn't touch the bottom line – that Palestinians want and need legitimate leadership. They need a leadership that can speak up for them, even if it is on the diplomatic stage. And this is something that is completely missing in the discussions about the future after the war" , says Tahani Mustafa, expert on Palestinian issues at the International Crisis Group.

Egypt recently presented a three-phase peace proposal: first with a two-week ceasefire and the release of 40 Israeli hostages; next with the formation of a technical Palestinian government that would organize elections and finally with a full ceasefire in exchange for the release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as well as the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.

The Egyptian proposal leaves Hamas untouched, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said is unacceptable. Some Israeli analysts say that the goal of eliminating Hamas is not achievable.

"Hamas is above all an idea, before being an organization. And Hamas will not disappear. Even if thousands of Hamas terrorists and political leaders are killed during the war, they will still have tens of thousands of supporters in Gaza and of course in other areas, such as the West Bank," says Michael Milshtein, from the Dayan Center of Tel Aviv University. Avivit.

Mr. Netanyahu says that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority can have a role in the future of Gaza. However, he has not presented a plan for the future of this area, and it is not clear how Gaza will be governed, or how it will be rebuilt./ VOA