“The PA cannot rule Gaza once the war is over … Gaza has to be demilitarised and Gaza has to be deradicalised …
So far we have not seen any Palestinian force, including the Palestinian Authority, that is able to do it,” Netanyahu told NBC’s Meet the Press.
The Israeli PM also accused the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, of supporting antisemitism and colluding with terrorism, by using “textbooks that teach pupils to hate Israel and by providing monthly monetary stipends to terrorists and their families”.
The IDF’s military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza after the October 7 attack has opened the door to intense speculation as to what will happen on the day after the war.
US backing Palestinian Authority to take over
Many analysts have said the Ramallah-based PA is the most suitable candidate to take over interim control of the Strip. The PA, which currently controls the West Bank, was ousted by Hamas from Gaza in 2007.
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In an indication that the US was also thinking along the same vein, Blinken made a suprise visit to the West Bank on November 5 and met Abbas. The PA leader said his party could return to power in Gaza only if a “comprehensive political solution” is found to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“We will fully assume our responsibilities within the framework of a comprehensive political solution that includes all of the [occupied] West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,” Abbas was quoted as telling Blinken by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
In what appeared to be the most direct US position since the start of the war on October 7, Blinken told Abbas the PA should play a central role in the future of Gaza.
Israel moving towards military control?
But with Netanyahu strongly rejecting any proposal that will see the Palestinian Authority resume power in Gaza, it seems Israel is positioning itself to take over military control of the Strip once again.
Earlier this month, Netanyahu had said that “Israel will for an indefinite period have overall security responsibility in Gaza, because we have seen what happens when we do not have it”. Netanyahu did not offer details on what Israeli security oversight in Gaza would entail.
Israel has insisted that it does not intend to reoccupy the enclave but Netanyahu’s comments could point to plans for what may amount to an extended military occupation of the Strip, home to over 2 million Palestinians.
Israel had militarily controlled Gaza from 1967 until its withdrawal from the territory in 2005.
The US has repeatedly asked Israel to come up with a long-term plan of who will take power in Gaza once Hamas is removed.
Need something else, says Netanyahu
Netanyahu has meanwhile rejected rumours that Israel was planning to rebuild settlements in Gaza.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, pulling out the army and destroying all 21 settlements that were located there, leaving it in the hands of the PA.
“We need a different authority, a different administration,” Netanyahu told NBC.
“It has to be a reconstructed civilian authority. There has to be something else [other than the PA] otherwise we are just falling into that same rabbit hole,” he added. “When Israel left Gaza [in 2005] it handed the keys to the PA,” but he said, the PA was “not willing to fight Hamas and they are still not willing to fight Hamas”.
We should occupy Gaza: Israeli minister
There are, however, some in Netanyahu’s government that have taken a much more radical stance.
National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel needs to take full control of the Gaza Strip after the war.
“We need to make it clear to the world that we need to occupy Gaza,” he said. “I see it as something very simple. Every time our enemies lost territory, it was because we won a war.”
The national security minister was strongly against Israel’s disengagement from the area in 2005 and expressed in the interview that he would be happy for Israelis to return there.
The same sentiment has been expressed by other ministers on the far-right like heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
(With inputs from agencies)
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