Palestinian Authority opposes US plans for Gaza

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has claimed that "the Palestinian people and their leadership represented by the PLO are the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people, and they have the only right regarding self-determination of our people and land."

In a statement published by the official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA, Abu Rudeineh was quoted saying, "There will be no legitimacy for anyone concerning the Gaza Strip, the West Bank or Jerusalem, not for the occupation nor for any other entity, and there will be no legitimacy for any action on Palestinian land that our people and leadership do not agree to, and no one else."

He stated, "In leaked reports, it was revealed that Washington is discussing plans with various parties regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, but these plans will have no legitimacy as the Palestinian people will not agree to them."

Abu Rudeineh emphasized that "the top priority now is to stop the aggression and massacres committed by Israel against us, not just talk about the day after the war."

Responding to statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel, Abu Rudeineh claimed, "The presence of the occupation in the Gaza Strip is illegal, and this is also the case in the West Bank."

He added, "The State of Palestine has authority over all of the occupied Palestinian land in Gaza, the [West] Bank, including Jerusalem. The occupation will end, and the Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international legitimacy, is the only way to achieve security and stability in the entire region."

The International Court of Justice in the Hague (ICJ) published on Friday a legal opinion stating that the occupied Palestinian territory includes the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

"The Gaza Strip is also part of the occupied territory. Israel left Gaza in 2005. The question is not whether the occupying power left the territory, but whether it still controls the area. Israel is still able to control certain aspects of the Gaza Strip, certainly since October 7. Therefore, the Disengagement did not completely absolve Israel of its obligations," the legal opinion stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the decision and condemned it, "The Jewish people are not occupiers in their land — not in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in our ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria. No false decision in the Hague will distort this historical truth, nor can the legality of Israeli towns in all parts of our homeland be questioned."