Gaza Conflict: Blinken seeks Palestinian governance after war as Israel continues offensive

Aiming to unite the region behind postwar plans for Gaza that include tangible moves toward a Palestinian state, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday about restructuring the Palestinian self-rule administration.

Blinken states that he has obtained promises from several regional nations to support the reconstruction and governance of Gaza following Israel’s war against Hamas. He also adds that broader Israeli-Arab rapprochement is still feasible, but only insofar as there is “a pathway to a Palestinian state.”

According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Blinken informed Abbas at their meeting on Wednesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the United States backs “tangible steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state.” He claimed that they talked about administrative reform.

There are major challenges to Blinken’s vision. Many Palestinians believe that the authoritarian, Western-backed Palestinian leadership, whose forces were forced out of Gaza when Hamas took control in 2007, lacks legitimacy, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is firmly opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

There is no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza, which is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the small coastal community. A bigger battle has been feared as a result of the fighting’s incitement of violence between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Blinken has met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey in recent days during his fourth trip to the area since the start of the conflict three months ago. In exchange for advancements toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, he says they are willing to participate in postwar preparations.

Blinken gave a stern speech after meeting with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials on Tuesday. He said that Israel must cease undermining the Palestinians’ right to self-governance in the West Bank by expanding settlements, demolishing homes, and evicting Palestinians.

However, he also stated that the 88-year-old Abbas, who has not run for office since 2005 and has little support from his own people, “has a responsibility to reform itself, to improve its governance,” and that he would talk about that with the Palestinian Authority.

Under temporary peace agreements made in the 1990s, the Palestinian Authority oversees a portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and collaborates with Israel on security issues. However, it has been unable to stop the growth of settlements on occupied area that it desires for a future state, and since Netanyahu took office again in 2009, there have been no meaningful or serious peace negotiations.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has failed to persuade Israel to grant the Palestinians even relatively small concessions, such as returning all tax money that it collects on their behalf or permitting the reopening of a US consulate to assist the Palestinians in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Israel, which launched the Gaza war on October 7, has sworn to battle until it vanquishes Hamas and frees the large number of captives that the terrorist organization has taken. Israeli officials said the campaign will last for the remainder of the year. In their own postwar plans, the territory—from which they withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005—is to have unlimited military authority.

The battle has forced about 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes, and a quarter of them are in danger of famine since just a small amount of food, water, medication, and other supplies are able to enter via an Israeli siege.

Blinken urged on Israel to “do everything it can to remove any obstacles” and stated that more food, water, medication, and other aid needed to enter and be distributed efficiently.

Thousands of Palestinians have evacuated northern Gaza, including Gaza City, and it is unclear if they will ever be able to return because of the offensive, which has left most of the region like a moonscape. Relocating them somewhere is something that far-right elements of Netanyahu’s administration have called for, which opponents claim would be equivalent to racial cleansing.

According to Blinken, the Israeli government does not support resettlement, and the United States is against any situation of that nature. Additionally, he claimed to have negotiated an agreement for a U.N. inspection system in northern Gaza to assess how and when people can return.

The built-up refugee camps in central Gaza, which date back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s formation, and the southern city of Khan Younis are currently the military’s primary areas of activity. Strikes around the territory have claimed hundreds of lives in recent days, including in locations in the extreme south where residents have been advised to seek shelter.

(With agency inputs)