On the streets of the besieged Gaza Strip, there appears to be little appetite for a PA government, despite Abbas’s suggestion that the PA might be willing to return to Gaza.
Gaza strip – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would govern the security of the Gaza Strip for an “indefinite period” after the ongoing war, in comments that came amid a growing debate over what that might look like the band under siege after the war.
Israel and its biggest ally the United States have insisted that Hamas – currently in power in Gaza – cannot be allowed to continue ruling the Gaza Strip, following its attack on southern Israel on October 7, during which approximately 1,400 people were killed.
However, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, called on Sunday for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and indicated that the PA would be willing to return to the besieged enclave in a future political settlement.
“We will fully assume our responsibilities as part of a comprehensive political solution that includes the entire (occupied) West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Palestinian Wafa News Agency.
Blinken was visiting Ramallah, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
So how do Gazans view the prospect of a PA takeover in the besieged strip, 17 years after Hamas won legislative elections and then after a military battle against Fatah, the political wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), chaired by Abbas?
Here are some voices from the field:
Mohamed, 25 years old
I don’t think the Palestinian Authority’s takeover of Gaza is a solution that people will accept or support. I reject it because I see what is happening in the West Bank, which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
There are still raids in many cities and people are still arrested in those areas considered to be under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
They don’t change anything on the ground. This is why his rule will not benefit Gaza in any way. I would be for a government of national unity (including Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions).
That would be much better.
Kamal, 53 years old
The PA will not protect Gaza because it has repeatedly participated in its siege and oppressed the people of Gaza, all because of its dispute with Hamas. We don’t think this can be fair to Gaza.
The president always makes these speeches talking about Gaza and his responsibility for it, but he doesn’t do what he says.
The proof is the siege and explosion that took place in Gaza. If the PA had been good for the West Bank, it could have been good for Gaza.
But we can clearly see that the return of the AP is impossible. This can only be done within the framework of a government of national unity chosen by the people.
Somaïa, 29 years old
The West Bank is a sufficient example of life for other Palestinians under Palestinian Authority rule. The Israeli occupation has an iron fist that attacks the simplest rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.
The only solution, or any other approach that should be discussed now, should prioritize ways to dismantle years of occupation and military rule in the occupied territories.
This will help those who rule Gaza, among the Palestinian factions, to do what is best for the people, and the people only.
Abu Hakeem, 45 years old
The question of whether the PA is a valid alternative actor, capable of taking power over two million people, does not seem to be a priority question for people at the moment.
Regardless, what the United States and the Palestinian Authority are currently discussing cannot be enough to guarantee the safety of my family or thousands of others who are currently in Gaza under fire from Israeli warplanes. Israeli war.
Ahmed, 33 years old
We have been demanding for years the simple human rights we need to live – like jobs, electricity, clean water, freedom of movement and the right to see a doctor outside.
The legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority as the proper power, and any other leader in Gaza, only comes into play when we have enough to live a good life and survive this hell.