Journalist Barak Ravid has reported on Axios that while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still opposes any role for the Palestinian Authority (PA) in post-war Gaza, the Biden administration is discussing with the PA the re-activating members of its security forces in Gaza to prepare a local force for after the war.
According to the report, the Biden administration is proposing the Palestinian Authority re-activate members of its security forces in Gaza in their attempt to "revitalize" the unpopular and weak Palestinian Authority to play a role once again in governing the Gaza Strip in the coming months.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met on Friday in Ramallah with Palestinian chairman Mahmoud Abbas. They discussed how the Palestinian Authority could be involved in governing Gaza after the war ends, including "post-conflict Gaza and governance issues as well as a revamped and revitalized Palestinian Authority, which would have the responsibility and accountability for how the future of the Palestinian people is managed."
This was reported by White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby in a briefing with reporters.
Kirby said Sullivan and Abbas discussed the steps needed to make the PA "more credible, more authentic, and more accountable” and U.S. officials say the Biden administration also wants 87-year-old Abbas to inject "new blood" into the Palestinian Authority's leadership. Candidates include decision-making people who are younger, highly capable, have credibility among Palestinian Authority Arabs in the PA and Gaza, and who are respected and trusted by the international community.
The US administration believes that the Palestinian Authority can play a role in a post-Hamas security force in Gaza, as they believe they are effective and have prevented attacks against Israel. The administration has been discussing with the Palestinian Authority re-activating some of the members of its security forces who live in Gaza and were on active duty until Hamas took over the enclave in a military coup in June 2007.
"There are a number of Gazans who have been part of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces in the past and that might be able to serve as a nucleus for a future force ... in the many months that follow the overall military campaign … but I want to stress that this is one idea of many," a senior U.S. official said in a briefing with reporters ahead of Sullivan's meeting with Abbas.
The Israeli government currently opposes any return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that, "As of this moment, the Palestinian Authority senior leadership simply refuses to condemn the October 7 massacre and some of them even praise it openly."
"They will control Gaza on 'the day after?' Haven't we learned anything? As the Prime Minister of Israel, I will not allow that to happen," Netanyahu said on Saturday.
He also stressed that after the elimination of Hamas, the Gaza Strip will be under Israeli security control, "and no element in it will either threaten us or educate its children to destroy us." Israeli officials admit the Palestinian Authority's security forces contribute to preventing attacks in Judea and Samaria but at the same time stress they have lost control in parts of the area.