The Palestinians rejected the plan to deploy international and Arab forces in the Gaza Strip after the end of the current war there. While President Mahmoud Abbas said that the State of Palestine must assume its duties in Gaza similar to the West Bank, Palestinian factions described the plan being discussed by the Americans and Israelis as an illusion and a mirage, and threatened to deal with any multiple force in Gaza as an occupying force.
In reference to his rejection of the plan, Abbas said: “The international community must intervene in order to end the human suffering in the Gaza Strip, stop the Israeli war, completely withdraw Israeli forces from the Strip, and have the State of Palestine assume its duties in Gaza as it does in the West Bank.”
Abbas’s statements appeared to be in response to Israel’s efforts to form an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip after the war.
Israeli media confirmed that Defense Minister Yoav Galant informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had made progress in this regard during his visit to Washington a few days ago.
There is talk about a force that will be formed from the forces of three different Arab countries that have not been named, with the United States taking over the management of the force, but without the presence of American forces on the ground.
Reports stated that the United States supports the idea. The force will likely be armed to maintain law and order, and will work with Gazans who have no ties to Hamas and are figures ostensibly linked to the Palestinian Authority.
Reports stated that American support is conditional on Israel starting to implement the post-war plan to rebuild Gaza.
An Israeli official told the Walla news website, “Israel is interested in developing a military force composed of Arab countries to solve the problem of the looting of humanitarian aid convoys, and to prevent any risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, as well as to enable the construction of a Palestinian alternative to the Hamas regime in Gaza.”
He added, “Such a step will lead to the establishment of a governing body in the region other than Hamas, and will solve a growing problem for Israel with the United States regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
The official confirmed that “Gallant discussed the possibility of establishing such a multinational force during his talks with US Secretary of Defense (Lloyd) Austin and in his talks with other high-level officials as part of promoting a plan for the post-war period.”
Under this plan, Israel will maintain full military control over Gaza for the time being, but will not have a civilian presence there, and civil affairs in the Strip will be managed by Palestinians who are not hostile to Israel. Furthermore, the plan calls for stabilizing the sector after the war with the help of a multinational force.
The plan emphasizes that the presence of the force will be temporary, and that the primary mission of the international force is to guard truck convoys containing humanitarian aid, as well as securing the naval aid pier that the United States is scheduled to build off the coast of the Strip, and it is expected to be ready within about a month.
Gallant asked the United States to cooperate in promoting the establishment of this multinational force, and assured the Americans that this requires political and material support and not sending American soldiers to Gaza.
The Walla website said that senior officials of the Israeli army and the Ministry of Defense discussed the issue in recent weeks with representatives of three Arab countries, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also raised the matter with the foreign ministers of several Arab countries in Cairo.
It was not immediately clear whether Arab countries were ready to participate in this force, but the United States was informed that any Arab participation at any level would only take place in a political context that leads to a two-state solution.
The Ynet news website said that progress had been achieved in the talks between the United States and the Arab countries, which were not named, as a result of visits by Israeli defense officials to these countries and talks with the US government and the United States Central Command.
Haaretz newspaper, for its part, said that an agreement had not yet been reached on how to arm the force.
The reports support a previous report by Politico newspaper this week, which stated that the Pentagon is in the early stages of talks on possible plans to fund a peacekeeping force.
Israeli Channel 12 said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was opposed to the idea, but Gallant indicated that it was the best available option.
The Palestinian Authority rejects the presence of any foreign forces and has communicated its position to the United States in advance. Last week, the head of the Palestinian caretaker government, Muhammad Shtayyeh, announced that the Palestinians reject “any foreign presence on the land of Gaza, whatever its nationality, forms, intentions, and motives.” Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, also rejected the presence of any non-Palestinian forces in Gaza.
A statement issued by the Follow-up Committee for the National and Islamic Forces in the Gaza Strip, distributed by the Hamas movement, said that these forces are unacceptable and will be dealt with as an occupying force. The statement said: “The occupation leaders’ talk about forming an international or Arab force for the Gaza Strip is an illusion and a mirage, and that any force entering the Gaza Strip is rejected and unacceptable and is an occupying force, and we will deal with it according to this description.”
The statement also appreciated the position of the Arab countries that refused to participate and cooperate with the “proposal of the occupation leaders.”
The Palestinian factions said that managing the Palestinian reality is an internal Palestinian national matter that “we will not allow anyone to interfere in it.”
A new Palestinian government, led by Muhammad Mustafa, will be sworn in before President Abbas on Sunday, after he approved it last weekend, and includes professional competencies.
Abbas formed the government in response to demands for reform in order to enable the authority to take over the Gaza Strip. Abbas assigned the government several tasks, including leading and coordinating relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, moving from the humanitarian relief phase to economic recovery, then organizing the reconstruction file, rebuilding what was destroyed by the Israeli war, reunifying the institutions as a single geographical, political, national and institutional unit, and preparing for elections. Legislative and presidential.
The US State Department welcomed the formation of the nineteenth Palestinian government, headed by Muhammad Mustafa.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We welcome the Palestinian Authority’s formation of a new government that serves the Palestinian people, and the United States looks forward to working with it to promote peace, security, and prosperity.” He added, “Revitalizing the Palestinian Authority is necessary to achieve results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and create conditions for stability in the broader region.”
But the leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian factions refused to form a government without consulting them, which complicates its work in Gaza.
ظهرت في الأصل على aawsat.com