Sunday, March 31, 2024

Palestinian Foreign Ministry warns against promotion of post-war arrangements by Israeli entity to carve up lands

Published: 31 Mar 2024 - 


QNA

Ramallah: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Sunday against the potential dangers of any post-war arrangements promoted by the Israeli entity government to be executed in a conspiratorial manner with the objective of strengthening its military and security control over Gaza and entirely separating the strip from the occupied West Bank, in addition to aborting the international efforts devoted to unifying the geography of the State of Palestine in light of the recognized Palestinian legitimacy.

Any arrangements that are neither carried out in full coordination with the Palestinian leadership, nor laid out within the framework of a clear political solution that ensures the embodiment of the Palestinian State on the borders of Jun. 4, 1967, with a binding resolution from the UN Security Council will be a waste of time and perpetuation of the conflict and war cycle, the ministry confirmed in a statement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that such matter requires prompt translation of international consensus on the two-state solution before it is too late, condemning the persistent genocidal war being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinians for the 177 days, resulting in the fall of martyrs, wounded and missing people on daily basis most of them children and women.

The Israeli entity is expanding the military occupation of the Gaza Strip through the demarcation of what is known as the buffer zone that devours and carves up a large swath of the strip through the transverse and longitudinal cutting of roads and converting the strip into separated areas akin to the separation of north, central and southern Gaza, the statement read, stressing that the Hebrew media is promoting the reports about besieging and separating Rafah amid the full closure of the strip borders with the intention of decimating Rafah.


Palestinian president demands Israel 'rapidly and completely' withdraw from Gaza


March 30, 2024 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership at the presidential headquarters, Ramallah

 [Palestinian Presidency/Anadolu Agency]

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that Israel must “rapidly and completely” withdraw from the Gaza Strip and cease all unilateral actions in the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

The remarks were made when Abbas spoke with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on the telephone, focusing on the Palestinian issue, Anadolu reports.

Abbas stressed the importance of the Palestinian state assuming its responsibilities in Gaza, similar to the West Bank and highlighted the necessity of establishing a mechanism for humanitarian and medical aid entry into Gaza.

He also emphasized the prevention of forced displacement of Palestinians and the need for the state to attain full membership status at the UN.

Radev expressed hope for an end to the conflict in Gaza, and voiced his desire for Palestinians to achieve independence and obtain all of their national rights.


Palestinian PM Mustafa forms cabinet, calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza


Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa formed a new cabinet on Thursday, with his top priority being an immediate ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
29 March, 2024

Palestinian PM Mustafa will make an immediate ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza a top priority 

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa formed a new cabinet on Thursday in which he will also serve as foreign minister, making an immediate ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza a top priority, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Mustafa, an ally to President Mahmoud Abbas and a leading business figure was appointed premier this month with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza, which has been shattered by more than five months of war. He performs double duty as foreign minister, replacing Riyad al-Maliki, who had served in the position since 2009.

Abbas, who remains the most powerful figure in the PA as president, appointed the new government to demonstrate his willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.

WAFA said he approved Mustafa's cabinet, which includes financial expert Omar al-Bitar as finance minister and Muhamad al Amour, who served as the president of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, as economy minister. However, he kept Ziad Hab al-Reeh, former chief of the PA's internal intelligence agency, as interior minister.

The new cabinet will also include a state minister for "relief affairs".

Mustafa said in a cabinet statement addressed to Abbas that the first national priority is an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid to enter in large quantities and reaching all areas, WAFA reported.

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"In order to enable the launch of the recovery process and preparation for reconstruction, stop the aggression and settlement activities, and curb settlers' terrorism in the West Bank," Mustafa added.

The PA, controlled by Abbas' Fatah political faction, has long had a strained relationship with Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs Gaza, and the two factions fought a brief war before Fatah was expelled from the territory in 2007.

However, it has repeatedly condemned the Israeli invasion of the Strip following the Hamas-led assault on Israel on 7 October and has insisted it must play a role in running Gaza after the war.


US welcomes new Palestinian govt following its call for political reform

The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not faced an election in almost two decades



Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, US, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 | 
Photo: BloombergAPJerusalem


 Mar 30 2024 | 

The United States has welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomous government, signalling it is accepting the revised Cabinet lineup as a step toward Palestinian political reform.

The Biden administration has called for revitalising the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in hopes that it can also administer the Gaza Strip once the Israel-Hamas war ends. The war erupted nearly six months ago, triggered by an October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

In a statement late Friday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States looks forward to working with the new group of ministers to deliver on credible reforms.

A revitalised PA is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region, Miller said.

The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not faced an election in almost two decades.

The United States sees the Palestinian Authority as a key part of its preferred plans for post-war Gaza. But the authority has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians, with many viewing it as a subcontractor of the occupation because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank.

Earlier this month, Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a US-educated economist, as prime minister. On Thursday, Mustafa named his new lineup. It includes relatively unknown technocrats, but also Abbas' interior minister and several members of the secular Fatah movement he leads. Several of the ministers are from Gaza, but it's not clear if they are currently living there.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, a rival of Abbas, drove his security forces from Gaza in a 2007 takeover. The United States wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to return and administer Gaza, an idea that has been rejected by both Israel and Hamas.

A major challenge for the Palestinian Authority, should it be given a role in administering Gaza, will be reconstruction. Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Airstrikes and Israel's ground offensive have left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting has displaced over 80 per cent of Gaza's population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the UN and international aid agencies say.

Israel has said it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. It's unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.

Hamas has warned Palestinians in Gaza against cooperating with Israel to administer the territory, saying anyone who does will be treated as a collaborator, which is understood as a death threat. Hamas has rejected the formation of the new Palestinian government as illegitimate, calling instead for all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections, which have not taken place in 18 years.


Early US Talks to Fund Peacekeeping Force
 in Gaza

Palestinians gather amidst the rubble of Moussa family's destroyed home following an Israeli airstrike, in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 29 March 2024.
 EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Washington: Elie Youssef
30 March 2024 AD ـ 20 Ramadan 1445 AH

US officials are in preliminary “conversations” about options for stabilizing post-war Gaza, including a proposal for the Pentagon to help fund either a multinational force or a Palestinian peacekeeping team, Politico reported.

The options being considered would not involve US troops on the ground, according to two Defense Department officials and two other US officials, all granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomatic and military negotiations. Instead, DOD funding would go toward the needs of the security force and complement assistance from other countries, said the report.

“We are working with partners on various scenarios for interim governance and security structures in Gaza once the crisis recedes,” a senior administration official said.

“We’ve had a number of conversations with both the Israelis and our partners about key elements for the day after in Gaza when the time is right.”

It could be weeks or months before Washington and its partners approve any plan, especially since regional players want to see a commitment to a two-state solution before seriously engaging with the options. There are also questions about the viability of training a potential Palestinian-led force in time to maintain order in Gaza, which has been decimated after five months of brutal fighting, according to Politico.

The talks include the White House, Pentagon, State Department and their foreign counterparts about what a potential day-after security force would look like, the four officials confirmed.

Under initial plans being drawn up, DOD would provide funding for some type of security force that would not include US troops on the ground in Gaza, according to the two DOD officials. One of the officials added that aid could be used for reconstruction, infrastructure, humanitarian assistance and other needs.

The Pentagon would likely need to shift funds from elsewhere in the department to pay for the plan. American assistance would supplement contributions from other countries, per the two US officials.

As for a potential Palestinian-led peacekeeping team, it’s still unclear who would train and equip its members, which could include some of the nearly 20,000 security personnel backed by the Palestinian Authority.

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