Who rules the ‘post-Hamas’ Gaza Strip?

The United States proposes a ‘two-state solution’ for peaceful coexistence… First of all, give strength to PA leader Abbas.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is a governing body comprised of the Palestinian legislative, judicial, and executive branches recognized by the United Nations. In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which represents the Palestinian people, signed the Oslo Agreement, which stipulated the establishment of a state and peaceful coexistence. Accordingly, Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate Palestinian government, and the PLO was officially launched and changed its name to PA in 1996.

The PA operates under a dual administration system. The head of the autonomous government (president) is the country’s highest leader, but real power is held by the parliament. The first head of the PA was Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO elected in the presidential election and leader of the main faction, the Fatah party. After Arafat died in 2004, Mahmoud Abbas, who won the presidential election in 2005, became the second president. The PA became an observer at the 2012 UN General Assembly with the consent of 138 out of 193 member countries.

In the 2006 Palestinian Authority general elections, the armed political faction Hamas defeated Fatah and became the majority party. Hamas formed a coalition government with the Fatah party based on its victory in the general election at the time, but when President Abbas insisted on early general elections, it entered into a civil war with the Fatah party in 2007 and took control of the Gaza Strip.

The autonomous regions where Palestinians live include the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the temporary administrative capital is Ramallah in the West Bank. The PA and Fatah parties rule the West Bank. Since then, the antagonism and confrontation between Hamas and Fatah have intensified in Palestine, and general and presidential elections have not been held.

After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. government began drawing a ‘big picture’ of entrusting governance of the Gaza Strip to the PA and Fatah parties and laying the foundation for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken revealed the U.S. vision for the Gaza Strip at a press conference held after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on November 8. Secretary Blinken proposed a plan for the PA to take control of the Gaza Strip and politically unify it with the West Bank if Israel eliminates Hamas.

Minister Blinken emphasized that Palestine’s ultimate future is the establishment of an independent state according to the ‘two-state solution’. This is a plan to allow Israel and Palestine to exist as independent states and coexist peacefully based on the borders formed before the Third Middle East War (1967). The two-state solution is a principle confirmed in the Oslo Agreement and is supported by the international community, including the United Nations.

Jake Sullivan, an adviser to the White House National Security Council, also said in an interview with CBS on November 12 that: △Israel cannot reoccupy the Gaza Strip; △Forcible relocation of Palestinians (e.g., relocation of Gaza residents outside the Gaza Strip) is impossible; △Future terrorism. Four principles were stated, including the inability to use the Gaza Strip as a base for power and the inability to reduce the Gaza Strip. Sullivan emphasized, “We want to see the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip reconnected and unified under Palestinian leadership.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts Israel’s control of security in the Gaza Strip at a press conference on November 11. [이스라엘 총리실]

It is unclear whether the U.S. government’s plan will be realized. Above all, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli far-right forces are strongly opposing it. Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that “Israel must assume overall security responsibility for the Gaza Strip indefinitely.” They literally want to reoccupy Gaza. Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967 during the Third Middle East War, but completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

When the international community, including the United States, strongly criticized this, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “We have no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip,” but added, “The Israeli military (IDF) will continue to control the Gaza Strip.” Prime Minister Netanyahu held a meeting with heads of Israeli local governments bordering the southern Gaza Strip for the first time since the outbreak of war on November 10. He emphasized, “Even after Hamas is defeated, the Gaza Strip will remain under IDF control,” adding, “There will be comprehensive security controls, including complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, to ensure that there is no longer a threat to the Israeli people after Hamas is eliminated.” Prime Minister Netanyahu also raised his voice, saying, “If the PA takes over the Gaza Strip, it will educate children to hate and kill Israel,” and added, “We cannot give up security control there under any circumstances.” It is unlikely that Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose political life is at risk of being cut off due to a surprise attack by Hamas, will meekly accept the PA’s plan to govern Gaza Agency presented by the U.S. government.

Israeli far-right figures, including Ariel Kalner, a member of the ruling Likud party, and Minister of Culture and Heritage Amihai Eliyahu of the anti-Arab far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, have argued that Gaza residents should be driven out to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Israeli far-right forces have opposed the creation of a Palestinian state and have argued that not only the Gaza Strip but also the West Bank should be annexed.

Another problem is that there is no country to govern the Gaza Strip in a transitional period. Transitional rule, including reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, is inevitable until the PA takes over the Gaza Strip, but no country has emerged to take charge of this. William Burns, Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), recently met with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Sisi and proposed transitional rule over the Ghazi region, but was rejected. None of the major Arab countries are accepting the U.S. proposal.

The United States is pursuing a plan to form and deploy a multinational peacekeeping force to fill the security vacuum in the Gaza Strip. It is a plan involving the United States, European countries, and Arab countries, but some say it is unlikely to be realized. This is because no country is willing to participate in a multinational peacekeeping force. Even within the United States, negative views are being raised about the deployment of U.S. troops.

The most important problem is that the PA is neither capable of governing the Gaza Strip nor receiving full support from the population. In fact, the PA lost public support even in the West Bank due to corruption and lack of administrative power. The PA has been led by the ruling Fatah party. As an important political party of the PLO, the Fatah Party, founded by Arafat in 1965, failed to demonstrate proper governing ability due to corruption and power struggles. In the end, it won 45 out of 132 seats in the general election on January 25, 2006, giving up the ruling party to Hamas.

The Fatah Party, which means ‘conquer’ in Arabic, has been called a ‘hotbed of corruption’ for siphoning off huge amounts of foreign subsidies while running the PA arbitrarily. A significant portion of the PA’s finances for government operations comes from support from the international community. Ted Singer, former Middle East officer for the U.S. CIA, pointed out, “The PA, which was kicked out of the Gaza Strip, lacks credibility and is barely able to govern the West Bank.”

On October 8, the Gaza Strip was subjected to an airstrike by the Israeli military. [뉴시스]

PA President Abbas is 87 years old and has been criticized for his lack of governing capacity, and has not received support from Palestinian residents due to corruption, mismanagement, and cooperation with Israel. The American New York Times (NYT) pointed out, “The PA has only weak power in the West Bank, and Abbas in particular is unpopular as a corrupt leader.”

It is no exaggeration to say that Abbas is the most important figure in Palestinian history, along with Arafat. He founded the PLO with Arafat and acted as second-in-command, including creating the Oslo Accords. Born in 1935 in Zefat (Safad), Palestine, which was under British mandate, he moved to Syria after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. He studied law at the University of Damascus in Syria, then studied in the former Soviet Union and earned a doctorate in research on the relationship between Israeli Zionism and German Nazism at Lumumba University in Moscow, making him the expert who knows Israel best among Palestinian politicians.

Unlike Arafat, Abbas was evaluated as a pragmatic leader capable of dialogue and negotiation. In fact, Abbas has expressed his belief that “it is impossible for Palestine to become independent by force because the balance of power is not in our favor,” and that “peace is the only option and victory cannot be achieved through armed struggle.”

Abbas is showing his will to rule the Gaza Strip and build a Palestinian state. In a speech commemorating the 19th anniversary of Arafat’s death on November 10, he emphasized that “the PA is willing to regain control of the Gaza Strip.” The U.S. government plans to give strength to President Abbas and continue discussing the future of the Gaza Strip with Israel and major Arab countries. As long as there is no trusted political force that can represent the people of Gaza, peace in the Gaza Strip cannot be guaranteed even if the war ends.

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.