Dr. Faisal Aranki, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the PLO, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah as their main faction, can play a pivotal role in the upcoming efforts to reshape the political scene in Gaza.
In remarks to Newsweek, Aranki said the Palestinian Authority may be asked to take over the administration of Gaza after the administration, which Tony Blair aspires to lead, fails.
He pointed out that the PLO, as the overarching national framework, is qualified to lead reconciliation efforts and oversee the movement of a new political process that includes holding elections and achieving national unity.
As for the new committee that is set to lead Gaza in the transitional period, Aranki said that the so-called “Peace Council” must be inclusive of all Palestinian factions, accountable to the Palestinian people and not only to international donors, and work according to a clear mandate based on national consensus and not imposed from outside.
To some extent, he said, this means that some Hamas elements should be integrated, so that members of the movement can be granted amnesty or allowed to leave Gaza, as part of the transformation of the Gaza Strip into a “demilitarized zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors,” according to the plan put forward by the US administration.
”In any future political path, a decisive reality must be confronted. Either Hamas integrates into the broader Palestinian national political framework through elections and reconciliation, or it continues to be isolated, a situation that ensures continued instability and tension.”
However, he stressed that “any sustainable peace or political solution can only be achieved with the participation of all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, either directly or through a unified national framework that is agreed upon.”
The role of the Palestinian Authority within the framework of the Trump Plan is summarized in Article 19, which states:
”As the reconstruction of Gaza progresses, and when the PA reform programme is thoughtfully and transparently implemented, the conditions may finally be in place to create a credible path towards Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the legitimate aspiration of the Palestinian people.
* Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Ebeid.
