Mustafa says PA plans to govern Palestinian territories post war
Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said on May 26th that he was preparing to govern all Palestinian territories, including Gaza, the New Arab and agencies reported.
“We need to work quickly to help our people in Gaza and prepare for the day that we will be in power in Gaza,” he told journalists. His statement came on the same day as an Israeli strike on a Gaza displacement camp that killed approximately 40 people.
Mustafa is in Brussels for talks held by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, which aim to raise the PA to a position to be able to assume power in Gaza once Israel stops waging war on the region. The PA — backed by the EU — seeks to govern the enclave in the place of Hamas.
While Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006, Israel and factions within Fatah refused to accept it, ultimately resulting in Hamas’s seizure of the Gaza Strip.
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“We want to build the institutions of a state,” said Mustafa. “We need to make sure we have a clear plan for governing Gaza and the day after.”
Mustafa encouraged other international powers to join Ireland, Spain and Norway, who recently vowed to formally recognise the State of Palestine. “This is the beginning of realisation of peace,” he said, “rather than a promise of peace that we have been waiting for for 30 years.”
“It’s time to make it a reality [that the] recognition of these states and a full membership of the United Nations is the right thing to do to keep the two-state solution viable,” he added, “and to keep the hope of peace for our people and the region.”
Israel has repeatedly said that it does not and will not accept the PA’s governance in Gaza, even though this proposal has garnered support from the US and EU. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also openly opposes a two-state solution, stating in December 2022 that he was proud to have “prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
The New Arab and agencies
