US has talked with Gulf states about post-war Gaza administration, envoy says
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Palestinians fleeing Gaza City with their belongings on Sept 19 amid an Israeli assault on the city.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
- US discussed Gulf states administering Gaza post-war, with potential US oversight, but no agreement exists yet ("It's a discussion," said Mr Mike Huckabee).
- Issues remain, including Israeli opposition to PA involvement and US concerns over PA payments related to terrorism ("Why would we push something that violates our own law?", stated Huckabee).
- Other plans are emerging, including Tony Blair's proposal, while Israel continues Gaza offensive to retrieve hostages and end the war.
AI generated
JERUSALEM - The United States has held talks with Gulf Arab states about the possibility that they could administer Gaza once the war is over, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Reuters on Sept 19.
Mr Huckabee said there had been conversations around an interim governing structure involving Gulf Arab states, potentially with the US taking on a supervisory role, with a decision on a permanent arrangement to be made later.
“It’s a discussion. It’s not something that has been accepted by the administration, by Israel, by anyone. I’m not familiar with anything that is ready for signature,” he said.
After nearly two years of war, Israel has not clearly outlined how it wants Gaza to be governed, although there is broad international consensus that militant group Hamas, heavily diminished by Israel’s siege, cannot remain in charge.
Mr Huckabee did not say when the talks took place, or which Gulf states had been involved. The Gulf states did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.
Reuters reported in January that the United Arab Emirates had discussed with the US and Israel about participating in an interim post-war Gaza administration that included the Palestinian Authority (PA). In May, it reported that the US had separately discussed the possibility of it leading a temporary post-war administration.
The PA, which exercises limited civic rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was forced out of Gaza by Hamas in 2007, has said it is ready to govern Gaza with international support.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes PA involvement and has said there will never be a Palestinian state.
The creation of such a state is one of the conditions the UAE has set for taking part in a post-war Gaza plan.
Mr Netanyahu has also declared that Israel must retain overall security control alongside an Arab-led civilian administration. Others in his right-wing coalition, however, want to annex Gaza.
Mr Huckabee said the US would not join any plan with the PA if it continued to make payments to individuals and families involved in what the US calls acts of terrorism.
“Why would we push something that violates our own law? We’re never going to do that,” he said in an interview.
(From left) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visiting the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in the old city of Jerusalem on Sept 14.
PHOTO: AFP
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who wants to annex Gaza,
Mr Huckabee said he was not aware of such talks.
Hamas disarmament
Hamas has acknowledged it will no longer govern after the war but has refused to discuss disarmament.
“They have to give up. They can’t continue to think that they have a future,” Mr Huckabee said at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Israel’s military this week launched a ground offensive
The military says thousands of militants are in the city and has ordered the population to leave, anticipating intense fighting.
Amid growing international outrage, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sept 16 called the events “horrendous” and said the war was morally, politically and legally intolerable.
Mr Huckabee also said former British prime minister Tony Blair was working on a plan for post-war Gaza, though he was not aware of the details.
Mr Blair met US President Donald Trump in August. The Tony Blair Institute declined to comment.
Asked what message Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered on the Gaza City operation during his visit to Israel this week, Mr Huckabee said the US recognised that “Israel has to do what it has to do to get its hostages back and end the war”.
Israel says around 20 hostages are still alive in Gaza after being captured in the October 2023 Hamas attack
Militants are also believed to be holding the bodies of 28 dead hostages.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Mr Netanyahu on Aug 8 ordered the military to take control there, but a greater number have stayed put, either in battered homes among the ruins or in makeshift tent camps. REUTERS
