Following recent reports about the possibility of clans, families, and civil activists in Gaza being assigned the task of distributing aid in the besieged territory to prevent it from reaching Hamas, new information has emerged about the governance of Gaza. Informed sources reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan proposed by the security establishment to enable Fatah to govern Gaza, according to a report in the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" on Thursday.
The report indicated that the plan, which was supported by the United States, aimed for the Israeli side to train Palestinians, specifically activists from Fatah led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to counter Hamas's influence in the sector. Additionally, the plan presented to the political leadership in recent weeks aimed to prevent humanitarian and food aid from reaching Hamas, encourage the movement to exit power and decision-making circles in central and northern Gaza, and lay the groundwork for establishing a Palestinian government in Gaza after the war and reconstruction.
Palestinian Intelligence Chief Majid Farraj was tasked with identifying between 4,000 to 7,000 Fatah activists within Gaza for Israel to vet and ensure they had no ties to Hamas. Tel Aviv was to allow them in a second phase of the plan to leave Gaza for training as a sustainable security force. U.S. General Michael Ben-Zvi, the security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was set to oversee this training process.
Farraj reportedly approved the plan, as claimed by the newspaper. It was also backed by the Israeli Defense establishment, led by Defense Minister Yoav Galant. However, the plan fell through when presented to Netanyahu, who rejected the involvement of Palestinian Authority personnel in the "next day" scenario for Gaza. This sparked sharp criticism towards Netanyahu from several political figures. One official even sarcastically remarked, "Maybe Netanyahu wants us to bring in security personnel from Switzerland to manage Gaza."
Previously, numerous reports hinted that Washington was pressuring for the formation of a new Palestinian authority, free from accusations of corruption or inefficiency, to unify the West Bank and Gaza and take over governance after the end of the Israeli war on the sector, which erupted on October 7 following an attack by Hamas. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that any new government would not be factional, indicating the exclusion of Hamas.
