The "Washington Post" reported that attempts by the United States to bolster the role of the Palestinian Authority and pave the way for it to take control of the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of the war have not received Israeli support. The article indicated that the Biden administration is working to strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority, represented by its President Mahmoud Abbas, in order to transfer control of Gaza to them following the war between Israel and Hamas. However, these efforts have not garnered any backing from the Israeli leadership thus far.
According to the article, Washington is attempting to clear the way for the Palestinian Authority towards Gaza by bringing in new leaders and training Palestinian security forces. However, it has yet to overcome the primary obstacle in this regard, which is the Israeli refusal to transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority that are necessary to pay the salaries of officials and police officers.
The newspaper noted that senior American representatives have recently visited Abbas's residence in Ramallah over the past weeks in an effort to bring new leadership to the authority and implement radical changes in positions, claiming that this is to improve the poor conditions of the unpopular authority among Palestinians and regain their trust.
The article added that the Palestinian Authority initially rejected the idea of returning to Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007, but has gradually become more accepting of this idea to seize the opportunity to restore unity between Gaza and the West Bank.
It explained that the Palestinian Authority has linked any efforts in this direction to a clear political horizon ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, pointing out that the Authority doubts the ability of the United States to guarantee such a condition amid the ongoing current extreme right-wing Israeli government.
Earlier, the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported, citing a senior Israeli official, that there are no negotiations regarding a prisoner exchange at the moment, and Tel Aviv rejects the current form of Palestinian Authority ruling Gaza. Netanyahu had previously stated that Israel would not repeat the "Oslo mistake" and would not allow "extreme entities" like Fatah and Hamas, who argue over how to eliminate Israel, to govern Gaza.
