Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Gaza Strip, stressing his commitment to controversial plans for the war-torn Palestinian territory by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Just as I have committed to, on the day after the war in Gaza, there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday.
“I am committed to U.S. President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza,” he added.
Trump recently caused outrage among Arab nations and rights groups by proposing the permanent resettlement of Gaza’s approximately 2 million inhabitants to Arab states and the transformation of the devastated coastal area into a Riviera of the Middle East.
Sky News Arabia reported on Sunday that Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which controlled Gaza for more than 15 years before the outbreak of the current war with Israel, could be open to return control of the territory to the PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank.
However, Hamas officials would have to be guaranteed new posts or pension payments under such an arrangement, according to the report.
Observers believe that Nentayahu is also opposed to such a plan as it could increase pressure for a two-state solution, which foresees the peaceful coexistence of Israel and an independent Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, a majority of Israelis reject that vision as unrealistic.(dpa/NAN)
