Jack Khoury, Arab affairs editor at Haaretz newspaper, said that the people of Gaza oppose the idea of local entities under Israeli auspices taking over the rule of the besieged Strip.
Khoury explained that the Gazans are pinning their hopes on an alternative, which is the establishment of a multinational force to manage civil affairs for a limited period, followed by a diplomatic process that will ultimately lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said.
News reports reported last Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his willingness to discuss the issue of transferring civilian control of Gaza to local entities not connected to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
But prominent figures in the Gaza Strip who are not affiliated with the movement clearly expressed their opinion that, under the prevailing circumstances, no one would agree to ruling Gaza under Israeli auspices, and no one would be able to impose order or obtain any cooperation from the residents of the Strip.
Hamas is dominant
A prominent person in Gaza – Khoury did not reveal his identity – says that the events of the past few weeks prove that Hamas is still the dominant and most influential entity in the Palestinian Strip.
This spokesman believes that if Hamas does not give the green light for local entities to take power in the Strip, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to rule Gaza, including merchants and tribal leaders, who some suggest as potential sources of political leadership. He adds that these groups will not give the leaders popular legitimacy or impose order in Gaza.
Khoury quotes the spokesman as saying, “Whoever dares to carry out this mission will be a contractor who cannot withstand pressure at best or will work under Israeli sponsorship at worst. Therefore, the Palestinian factions will not cooperate with him, including the Palestinian Authority and its agencies, and certainly will not happen.” On the cooperation of (Hamas movement).”
For his part, a veteran activist from the Fatah movement in Gaza – the author of the article did not reveal his name – says that tribal leaders and sheikhs of villages and small towns (mukhtars) belonging to different families usually belong to one of the factions, whether Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, or other factions. Adding that everyone who tries to entangle them is deceiving the Israelis.
According to the article, the Palestinian Authority also refuses to cooperate in the administration of Gaza, and has also categorically rejected a proposal to control the Rafah border crossing under Israeli auspices.
Bank model
A high-ranking official in the Palestinian Authority told Haaretz newspaper that Ramallah realizes that applying the model of the existing regime in the West Bank to Gaza will not be successful.
He added that there is nothing good in the model of the existing authority in the West Bank, which the Palestinians consider occupied, and that the Palestinian Authority is faltering.
The senior official asked, “How can we talk about applying the West Bank model to Gaza, while the position of the Palestinian Authority has eroded to the point of losing control and being unable to pay salaries?”
Multinational
According to Khoury in his article, the factions and tribal leaders in Gaza, as well as senior Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah, agreed on the final solution, which is the deployment of a multinational force under the auspices of the United Nations in Gaza for a limited period until the launch of a diplomatic process that implements the two-state solution, based on a decision. It was taken at the Arab League Summit, which was held last week in the Bahraini capital, Manama.
According to a Palestinian source familiar with the talks that took place on the sidelines of the summit, the Arab countries agreed to participate in such a force as a starting point towards establishing a ruling entity in Gaza that would be established by Palestinian consensus.
The source says that the Arab countries will not be willing to give the Palestinian Authority a financial safety net or provide direct support, indicating their lack of confidence in the new Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa, and arranged by President Mahmoud Abbas.
