The outgoing Administration of Joe Biden This Tuesday he presented his plan for the future of Gaza once the Israeli bombs stop echoing in the Palestinian enclave, less than a week before the next US president takes office, Donald Trump. As explained by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a speech at the Atlantic Council ideas center in Washington, this future would involve a government of the Palestinian Authority supported by the international community and by a reunification with the West Bank.
“We believe that the Palestinian Authority should invite international allies to help establish and direct an interim administration with responsibility for key civilian sectors in Gaza,” Blinken explained during his speech.
Blinken’s proposal, which will be delivered to the next Trump Administration, lays the foundations for an independent Palestinian state in line with what was announced by the outgoing Secretary of State in Tokyo in November 2023 and would be applied, if the future tenant of the White House so considers, once Israel and Hamas close the agreement for a ceasefire.
“For many months we have been working intensively with our partners to develop a detailed post-conflict plan that would allow Israel to withdraw completely of Gaza, prevent Hamas from returning to power and guarantee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza,” the head of US diplomacy detailed. The plan goes against the wishes of some ministers of the Israeli Government, such as the head of Finance, Bezalel Smotrichor National Security, Itamar Ben Gvirwho advocate reoccupying the Strip.
Support from the international community
According to the project announced this Tuesday, foreign allies and the UN would help the Palestinian Authority, which today governs parts of the occupied West Bank, to “establish an interim government” in Gaza and that would have competencies in access to water, energy and health. This provisional executive would be made up of representatives chosen by the citizens of the enclave in a “consultation” and would end up handing power to a “reformed Palestinian Authority as soon as possible.”
In parallel, a security mission should be created to guarantee humanitarian work, the reconstruction of the Strip and to be in charge of border surveillance to prevent Hamas from being able to rebuild its military power. This mission would need the endorsement of a United Nations Security Council resolution and, as Blinken explained, countries allied with the United States have already expressed their willingness to “contribute with troops and police.”
And in the longer term, he added, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority should agree on “a path and deadlines to form an independent Palestinian state.”
Aware of the complicated implementation of his plan, Blinken has admitted that it will be necessary for “all parties” to muster “the political will necessary to make difficult decisions and reach difficult agreements.” And he has given two examples: the Palestinian Authority will have to “prevent the return of Hamas” and Israel will have to “accept the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank” under the same leadership.
