Palestinians don’t want to govern Gaza — here’s why
Gaza “must include Palestinian-led governance” and be “unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The only problem is Palestinians have made it clear they refuse to govern Gaza after the war.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Blinken the Palestinian Authority would govern Gaza only as part of a comprehensive deal that includes the PA governing all the West Bank and East Jerusalem: Either the PA gets all the 1967 territory, or let Israel figure out how to manage Gaza.
Abbas visited Jenin in the West Bank in July, the first time since 2012.
His senior officials were chased out, and he was not welcomed.
Yet Abbas thinks he can govern all 1967 territory when he can barely impose his control outside Ramallah.
Muhammad Dahlan, the former PA Gaza viceroy whom Hamas ejected in its 2007 coup, also said he would not accept an offer to govern the strip after Hamas because there is no one person who can fix things for Palestinians, who need an overhaul of their politics and system.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, warned Palestinians against even thinking about the idea of Gaza after Hamas: The only conceivable outcome is “the resistance overcomes the aggression. By beating the invaders, Palestinians will dissipate the delusions of creating a new reality” in postwar Gaza after the war.
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Palestinians and the Gaza Strip stand at a crossroads.
Either Israel succeeds in obliterating Hamas, giving the UAE and Palestinians an opportunity for a new start — rebuilding Gaza and with it a new and competent government — or Qatar manages to delay, obstruct and keep Hamas relevant until the Israeli momentum weakens and the world forces Israel to stop.
Hamas would thus survive, and plans for a better post-war Gaza will be shelved, probably forever.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
