Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is ready to take full responsibility for the Gaza Strip.
In a statement released by the presidential office, it was confirmed that under President Abbas’s directive, the Palestinian government has completed all preparations to assume full responsibility in Gaza.
These preparations include the return of displaced people, the provision of basic services, the management of border crossings, and the reconstruction of the war-torn region.
Since 2007, Gaza has been under the full control of Hamas, while the rival Palestinian faction, the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah, manages the West Bank.
Hamas had won the last Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, but during the ongoing war, they signaled that they are not interested in governing Gaza after the conflict.
Hamas sources told AFP that they are ready to transfer the management of Gaza’s civilian affairs to a Palestinian institution.
Israel has not taken an official stance on the post-war governance of Gaza, but Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly rejected the idea of governance by either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated last week that Gaza’s administration should be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, while Palestinian leaders have insisted that the future of Gaza should be decided solely by the Palestinians themselves, without external interference.
