4 Palestinians were killed and 6 wounded by Israeli fire in the West Bank

An informed Palestinian source said that the position of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the issue of governing the Gaza Strip is old, consistent, clear and has not changed, and is based on two issues: The first is that the Authority will not return to Gaza Strip aboard an Israeli tank, and the second is that the Authority imposing its control over the Gaza Strip is a purely Palestinian issue, considering Gaza as part of the future Palestinian state. .

The source added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “The issue of handing over the Gaza Strip to the authorities is not a new idea, as it was raised at the height of the war in 2014, which lasted 51 days. The answer was clear. We’re not going back on the back of an Israeli tank. The issue was looked at again, and they received the same answer, and now the issue is being raised on a larger American-Israeli and even regional scale, and our position remains the same (we will not return on the back of an Israeli tank to protect Israel’s security, needs and vision, but within a comprehensive solution that ensures the creation of a Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem). )”.

According to the source, Abbas told all parties, including the Americans, that destroying the “two-state solution” and replacing it many times with the weakening and marginalization of authority, and advocating division, backfired Israel, and that the solution is now simple and clear, after the world has learned the importance of authority. It is the creation of a Palestinian state.

The source was commenting on a broad campaign against President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority after a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Ramallah on Sunday, and the two sides discussed the future of the Gaza Strip.

Campaign and incitement

The source said that the parties behind the campaign, “external and internal”, focused on two sentences: One was said by American sources, relating to the Authority’s willingness to play a role in Gaza in the event that Hamas was isolated, and the second was said by Blinken, who thanked the president for his efforts in controlling the situation in the West Bank, but none of them wanted to read what Abbas told Blinken about the comprehensive political solution.

Abbas and the Authority came under fire after he told Blinken that the Authority was ready to play a role in Gaza if Hamas was isolated, and after Blinken thanked him for his help in maintaining calm in the West Bank .

Although the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) published that Abbas had informed Blinken that security and peace would be achieved by ending the Israeli occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine with its capital, East Jerusalem, at the 1967 borders , underlining that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine and “we will assume our responsibilities”. Fully within the framework of a comprehensive political solution for the entire West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,” and reaffirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and is the decision-making body on everything that concerns the Palestinian people, Abbas has been subjected to political and media attack and has organized offensive demonstrations in some cities of the West Bank and social media have released a statement calling on the security services to revolt.

The source said that the authority’s position is clear, as it is working to stop the war and bring aid, and told the whole world that the solution must be political, not security. The authority continues its pressure and works in its own way, without hindering any demonstration or position in the West Bank, but is aware of the possibility of creating chaos.

A call for national unity

Political Commissar General Major General Talal Dweikat, spokesperson for the security services, issued a statement on Monday in which he said: “The West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, are a single geographical and political unit, and it is it falls within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its responsibilities, as it is the only legitimate representative of our people, who has the responsibility.” Responsibility for our Palestinian people, both at home and in the diaspora.”

He added: “The priority of the Palestinian leadership is to stop the brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and send the necessary humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip.”

Dwikat attacked what he described as “some media spokesmen who are trying to publicize incorrect positions of the Palestinian leadership regarding the management of Gaza after the war, with the aim of fueling internal conflict, in light of Israeli aggression in course. those most in need of national unity, instead of dividing the ranks”. “Accusations”.

He said President Mahmoud Abbas was “unequivocally clear” in his position towards the US Secretary of State, as he stressed that the priority now is to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip and his rejection of any security project that The United States of America and Israel wish to implement what goes beyond the political solution based on statehood. The Palestinian territories border the June 4 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital.

Cancellation refused

In another position regarding the Authority’s adherence to a political solution based on the unity of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh stated that “the Israeli government’s decision to deduct new sums from customs clearance funds, under the guise that we are funding Gaza to the tune of $140 million a month, it is a political effort aimed at separating Gaza from the West Bank. “We will not allow it and we will not accept this separation.”

Shtayyeh added in his speech at the start of Monday’s cabinet meeting in Ramallah that “Gaza is an integral part of our national fabric and an essential geographic component of the State of Palestine. We have been committed to fulfilling our responsibilities there for 30 years. years. years, even after the partition, and we will continue. “This money is our people’s money and we will continue to demand it until we get it.”

Shtayyeh spoke of international intervention to resolve the issue, stressing that money is no more valuable than the blood of children in Gaza and the West Bank.