The Palestinian Authority should administer the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Middle East

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will eventually have to govern the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after the war between Israel and Hamas. In an opinion piece published by the Washington Post, he added that the United States is prepared to ban visas for “extremists” who attack civilians in the West Bank.

The US President stressed that the international community must establish a reconstruction mechanism to meet Gaza’s needs in the long-term and sustainable manner, adding: “There is no forced displacement of civilians from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege and no reduction of territory.”

He added: “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank must be reunited under a single governance structure and, ultimately, under a renewed Palestinian Authority, as we all work towards a two-state solution.”

Biden used the article to try to answer the question of what the United States wants for Gaza once the conflict ends. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel must maintain its “overall military responsibility” for Gaza “for the foreseeable future.”

Biden also said the United States was prepared to ban visas for “extremists” who attack civilians in the West Bank.

Biden said: “I have emphasized to Israeli leaders the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and to hold perpetrators of the violence accountable.”

Netanyahu rejects Abbas’ takeover of power in Gaza

In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that he believes that the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to assume responsibility for managing the Gaza Strip after the end of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip .

Netanyahu said at a news conference: “I believe that the Palestinian Authority in its current form is not capable of taking responsibility for the Gaza Strip.”

Netanyahu added that he believes it is not possible to transfer the administration of Gaza to Abbas after the Israeli army fought for the Strip. Furthermore, he noted that Abbas has not yet condemned the attack carried out on October 7 by the armed wing of Hamas against Israel.

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank has increased following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

The West Bank, home to three million Palestinians living among more than half a million Jewish settlers, has witnessed a state of turmoil for more than 18 months, raising growing international concern over the escalation of violence after October 7.

Read also