Palestinian Authority Signals Willingness for Military Confrontation to Reclaim Gaza
Mahmoud Abbas's administration expresses readiness to engage militarily with Hamas to restore control over the Gaza Strip.
Watan-The Palestinian Authority (PA), under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, is seeking to regain control over the Gaza Strip, even if it necessitates a military confrontation with Hamas. According to informed sources, the PA has communicated to the United States its readiness to engage with Hamas if that is the required price to reestablish authority over the region.
This stance was presented during a meeting in Riyadh between U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh, who is considered a potential successor to Abbas.
The PA’s proposal includes governing Gaza through a committee primarily composed of individuals from outside the territory, with Abbas’s advisor, Ziad Abu Amr, a Gaza-born U.S. citizen with a Ph.D. from Georgetown University, serving as the de facto governor.
The meeting between Witkoff and the PA was facilitated by Saudi mediation, though Riyadh was reportedly not privy to the plan’s details beforehand. Following discussions with al-Sheikh, Witkoff traveled to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the PA’s strategy for reclaiming control over Gaza.
The PA hopes to secure U.S. military support in the event of a confrontation with Hamas, especially given the U.S. administration’s longstanding support for efforts to replace Hamas’s governance in the area. Recent displays of support for Hamas, such as during the recent prisoner exchange ceremonies, have embarrassed the PA and demonstrated the movement’s significant popular backing, increasing pressure on Abbas to find a way to reassert his authority over Gaza.
This plan faces significant challenges, as the PA is widely perceived within the West Bank as a corrupt entity collaborating with the Israeli occupation, making it difficult to convince Palestinians to accept any new arrangements imposed on Gaza.
Additionally, Hamas is unlikely to relinquish control of the territory easily, meaning any attempt to seize it by force could lead to a bloody confrontation between the two parties, potentially igniting unrest throughout the Palestinian territories.
