Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave

Clan and community leaders in northern Gaza called for the Palestinian Authority to govern the Gaza Strip, Jan. 6 (WAFA)
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Updated 07 January 2025
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Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave

  • Community leaders demand a stop to ongoing forced Israeli displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza
  • Confirm the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole representative of the Palestinian people

LONDON: Clan leaders in Gaza City and northern Gaza called for the Palestinian Authority to govern the coastal enclave in a rare public statement this week.

Prominent clan leaders in the Gaza Strip have requested President Mahmoud Abbas take charge of Gaza’s affairs, which have been affected by Israel’s war in the enclave and clashes between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces since October 2023.

Some signatories include Yahya Ayub Al-Kafarnah, chief of Gaza’s northern clans; Zakaria Jahshan, coordinator of the Christian denominations; and Mohammed Al-Masry, former mayor of Beit Lahia municipality, along with many other community leaders, dignitaries, and Mukhtars.

They urged the PA to lead the Gaza Strip, connect it to the West Bank geographically, and stop the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza by Israel.

They confirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad are a part of, will continue to be the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.

The community leaders urged the PA to exercise pressure on Arab and Western countries to “force the Israeli government to stop its war of genocide ... and secure an immediate ceasefire,” the WAFA press agency reported.

Mediated and indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to secure an exchange of captives and a truce have been ongoing for months, but without success.

At least 45,000 Palestinians have died during the war in Gaza, and around 11,000 are missing under the rubble of bombed or damaged buildings, with 100,000 people having left the enclave.

The Gaza Strip’s population had decreased by 6 percent in 2024, according to recent data by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.


Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank

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Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank

  • Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty

AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, while the military said soldiers had responded to stone throwing.

The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
Shortly after, Israel’s military said its forces had come to the village after Palestinians “hurled stones toward Israelis, set tires on fire and blocked access routes to the area.”
The military said dozens of Palestinians were throwing stones upon their arrival, including one who posed “an imminent threat.”
“The soldiers responded by firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire to eliminate the terrorist,” the military said, adding it had set up roadblocks in the area to search for another suspect.
Amin Abu Aliya, mayor of Al-Mughayyir, said that the army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers.
“This young man (Nassan) was exiting the mosque where he was praying with the people, the military vehicle stopped in front of the mosque, they opened the back door and started shooting at him directly,” Abu Aliya said.
Abu Aliya added that following the incident, the army introduced a curfew for the village, closing all shops and setting up a new checkpoint at the village’s entrance.
He pointed to the heavy military presence in his village in recent months, which he said often protected Israeli settlers who recently set up nearby outposts and took land from Al-Mughayyir farmers.
In September, a settler who the military said was an off-duty soldier shot and killed a 20-year-old who the army said had thrown stones in Al-Mughayyir.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Violence there has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war and has not subsided despite the truce that came into effect in October.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Health Ministry figures.