US to help Abbas and PA rule over Gaza after conflict ends

According to the Times of Israel the American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro indicated on Saturday night that the US may have plans to see the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas rule Gaza once this current conflict comes to an end.

Shapiro's comments were made in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 news.

The Times of Israel report that when Shapiro was asked about the formation of a unity government between Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas last month: “He did not reply directly and instead noted that Abbas was currently in close contact with Egypt, trying to broker a ceasefire to end the Hamas-Israel hostilities. Then he said, “At the end of this conflict, we’ll seek to help the moderate elements among the Palestinians to become stronger in Gaza,” referring to Abbas’s PA. “They might be able to run Gaza more effectively than Hamas, a terror organisation.”

He further reiterated the American stance on the current crisis when Shapiro said that the US “strongly backs Israel’s right to defend itself. It’s intolerable for any state to have rockets fired at its citizens, or terrorists infiltrating via tunnels.” He said the US “understands the need for the current ground offensive.”

Asked if he would qualify those remarks with any reservations, Shapiro said, “There is no ‘yes, but’” to that US position of support for Israel.

He then added, “At the same time, we worry about injury, after a [possible] further escalation, to civilians, on both sides by the way, and hope Israel will continue to run the operation in the way that minimizes the harm to civilians as much as possible.”

In discussing ceasefire initiatives Shapiro confirmed that the US was only supporting any Egyptian backed initiatives, citing the country's historical role in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

That seemingly discounts the fact that Hamas, for their part, have rejected the idea of an Egyptian sponsored ceasefire initiative, saying they were not involved in discussions and that they found out about it in the media. A statement from their military wing said the deal “was not worth the ink it was written with” due to the absence of conditions desired by Hamas, namely the end of a punishing a seven year long Israeli blockade on Gaza and release of a number of prisoners. Instead Hamas has leaned towards Qatar and Turkey as prospective peace brokers. 

This all comes about during the worst Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in years. According to the latest figures, which are growing all the time, the most recent Israeli attack which took place in Shejaiya brings the death toll to 425 Palestinians killed. 112 of whom were children, 41 women and 25 elderly people. The number of those injured so far is estimated to be around the 3008 mark.