On Thursday, December 14, 2023, a Palestinian wounded during the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip arrives at a hospital in Rafah. (Associated Press ** Fatima Shbair).
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — U.S. advisers and Palestinians are scheduled to discuss post-war arrangements for Gaza on Friday, which could include the reactivation of Palestinian security forces that were expelled when Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, according to a senior U.S. official.
The proposal is the first concrete indicator of Washington's vision for security arrangements in Gaza if Israel achieves the U.S.-backed goal of ending Hamas's control of besieged enclaves.
Any role of the Palestinian security forces in Gaza is bound to provoke strong opposition from Israel, which has sought to maintain an open security presence there and said it would not allow the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, an autonomous West Bank led by Mahmoud Abbas, to gain a foothold in the post-war period.
On Thursday, Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Israeli leaders about a timeline for ending the intense fighting phase of the war.
The offensive sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October has razed much of northern Gaza and forced 80 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million people to flee their homes. In the midst of the escalating humanitarian crisis, displaced people have crowded into shelters, mainly in the south.
Joe Biden of the United States has expressed unease over Israel's failure to reduce civilians and its plans for Gaza's future, but the White House continues to fully support Israel with transportation and diplomatic support.
Asked on Thursday if he wanted Israel to scale back its operations by the end of the month, Biden said, "I want them to focus on how to save civilian lives." ”。Don't stop chasing Hamas, but be more careful. ”
White House committee spokesman John Kirby said Sullivan spoke with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu about "low-intensity action" "in the near future."
It is unclear how much the United States and Israel are divided on the timetable. Israeli Defense Minister Joff Galant told Sullivan that it would take months to destroy Hamas, but did not say in the statement whether his estimate referred to the current phase of intense fighting.
Gallant said that after this phase, less intensive action will be taken to eliminate any resistance from Hamas.
This week, Hamas carried out a deadly ambush on Israeli forces in Gaza City, showing the group's resilience and raising doubts about whether Israel can defeat it without destroying the entire territory.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli air and ground attacks over the past 10 weeks have killed more than 18,700 Palestinians. Thousands more are missing, feared to have died under the rubble.
The Ministry of Defense does not distinguish between the deaths of civilians and combatants. The latest statistics do not specify how many women and minors are, but in previous statistics they had consistently accounted for about two thirds of deaths.
Communications services across Gaza appeared to remain paralyzed on Friday morning. Palestinian telecommunications provider Paltel announced late Thursday that services had been cut off due to ongoing fighting.
Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling continued overnight and into Friday, including in the southern city of Rafah, a shrinking part of the densely populated Gaza region, where Israel demanded the evacuation of Palestinian civilians. At least one person died, according to an AP reporter who saw the body being taken to a local hospital.
Israelis remain strongly supportive of the war and believe that it is necessary to prevent a recurrence of the 7 October war. At that time, Palestinian militants attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 people hostage. A total of 116 soldiers were killed in the ground offensive that began on 27 October.
The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that the bodies of the three hostages had been returned. Two of them were 19-year-old soldiers, and the third was a 28-year-old French-Israeli dual national kidnapper.
More than 100 hostages have been released, most of them during last month's ceasefire, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Palestinian support for Hamas has tripled in the West Bank, with support in Gaza rising slightly, according to a poll released Wednesday. Nevertheless, according to the survey, which has a margin error of 4 percentage points, the majority of Palestinians do not support Hamas.
Sullivan was scheduled to meet with Abbas on Friday. In 2007, Hamas expelled Abbas's security forces, and Abbas lost control of Gaza. A year ago, Hamas defeated Abbas's Fatah party in parliamentary elections, while rivals failed to form a coalition**.
A senior U.S. ** said Sullivan and others had discussed the prospect of making people associated with Palestinian Authority security forces before the Hamas takeover the "core" of post-war peacekeeping operations in Gaza.
This is one of many ideas considered to establish security in Gaza, the ** said. According to the basic rules of the White House, he asked for anonymity. He said the talks were held with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and regional partners.
The U.S. says it ultimately wants to see the West Bank and Gaza under a united Palestine** as a precursor to Palestinian statehood — an idea that Netanyahu has steadfastly rejected and leads a right-wing opposition to Palestinian statehood**.
The Palestinian prime minister told the Associated Press that it was time for the United States to be more determined in its dealings with Israel, especially at a time when Washington was calling for negotiations on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the war.
Mohammed Shtayeh said on Thursday: "Now that the United States has talked, we want Washington to be on the right track." ”。If the United States can't hand over Israel, who can?”
As part of the post-war scenario, Washington also called for the revitalization of the Palestinian Authority, but did not say whether such reforms would require personnel changes or **, the last ** was held 17 years ago. Abbas, 88, is generally unpopular, with polls this week showing that nearly 90 percent of Palestinians want him to resign.