CAIRO: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would reassume control over the Gaza Strip under a post-war plan announced by Arab leaders.
Abbas said in his opening remarks at an Arab League summit in Cairo that his administration could assume "its duties in the Gaza Strip through its governmental institutions, and a working committee has been formed for this purpose".
Under the post-war plan, the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus would take "on its responsibilities after restructuring and unifying the cadres present in the Gaza Strip and training them in Egypt and Jordan".
The Gaza Strip has been governed by the Islamist militant group Hamas since 2007, when it seized control from the PA after being blocked from exercising real power despite winning a parliamentary election the previous year.
Arab leaders met in Cairo on Tuesday in order to discuss a plan for Gaza's reconstruction to counter a proposal floated by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and turn it into the "Riveria of the Middle East".
In his opening remarks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his government's plan for Gaza's post-war reconstruction would ensure that a committee under the PA runs the territory.
"Egypt, in cooperation with its brothers in Palestine, worked to form an administrative committee of independent Palestinian professionals and technocrats entrusted with managing the Gaza Strip based on the expertise of its members," Sisi said.
Sisi added that the plan proposed by Egypt would ensure that "the Palestinian people remain on their land".
According to a draft version of the Egyptian plan seen by AFP, the committee would manage the territory for a transitional period of six months before the PA resumes full control.
The Arab League summit on reconstruction follows renewed backing of Trump's plan from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who labelled it as "visionary and innovative".
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, whose retaliatory offensive left the territory largely in ruins and created a devastating humanitarian crisis.
Palestinian president welcomes Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza
https://arab.news/mg2wr
Palestinian president welcomes Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza
- Abbas also said he was ready to hold presidential and parliamentary elections if circumstances allow
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
