On the streets of the besieged Strip, there appears to be little appetite for a Palestinian Authority government, despite Abbas’s suggestion that the PA may be open to a return to Gaza.
Gaza Strip – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 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 the besieged strip might look like after the war to see.
Israel and its biggest ally, the United States, have insisted that Hamas – currently in power in Gaza – should not be allowed to continue ruling the strip, following the October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed an estimated 1,400 people .
However, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and indicated the PA would be willing to return to the besieged enclave as part of a future political settlement.
“We will fully assume our responsibilities within the framework of a comprehensive political solution that covers all issues [occupied] West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Blinken was visiting Ramallah, the seat of the PA in the occupied West Bank.
So how do people in Gaza view the prospect of the PA taking power in the besieged Strip, 17 years after Hamas won parliamentary elections, and then a military struggle against Fatah, the political arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), chaired by Abbas ?
Here are some voices from the ground:
Mohammed, 25
I don’t think the PA takeover of Gaza is a solution that people will accept or support. I reject it because I can see what is happening in the West Bank, which is under PA control.
There are always raids in so many cities and people are always arrested in these areas under PA rule.
They don’t change anything on the ground. This is why Gaza will not benefit his rule in any way. I would be in favor of a government of national unity [including Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions].
That would be much better.
Kamal, 53
The PA will not protect Gaza because it has repeatedly participated in the siege and oppressed the people of Gaza, all because of its dispute with Hamas. We don’t believe it can be fair in Gaza.
The president always makes these speeches about Gaza and his responsibility for it, but he doesn’t walk the talk.
The evidence is the siege and explosion that took place in Gaza. If the PA was good for the West Bank, it could also be good in Gaza.
But we can see that the return of the PA is impossible. This can only come about as part of a government of national unity, elected by the people.
Somalia, 29
The West Bank is enough of an example of what life is like for other Palestinians under PA rule. The Israeli occupation has an iron fist that is attacking the most basic rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.
The only solution, or whatever next step needs to be discussed now, should prioritize the means to dismantle years of occupation and military rule in the occupied territories.
That will help whoever governs Gaza, among the Palestinian factions, to do what is best for the people, and the people alone.
Abu Hakeem, 45
Whether the PA is a valid alternative player that could take control of two million people here does not seem to be a priority question for people at the moment.
What the US and the PA are discussing now, whatever happens, cannot be enough to guarantee the safety of my family or the thousands of others currently under fire from Israeli warplanes in Gaza.
Ahmed, 33
We have been advocating for years for the human rights we need to live a life – such as employment, electricity, clean water, freedom of movement and the right to seek medical care abroad.
The legitimacy of the PA as a suitable power, and of any other ruler in Gaza, only comes into view when we have enough for a good life and survival from this hell.