The Wall Street Journal said that Egypt rejected an American proposal to manage security in Gaza temporarily.

The American Wall Street Journal, citing senior Egyptian officials, reported on Wednesday that “the United States proposed to Egypt to manage security in the Gaza Strip temporarily,” but Cairo “rejected.”

According to the newspaper, the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, discussed the proposal with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the head of intelligence in the North African country, Abbas Kamel.

The proposal comes, according to the American newspaper, “so that the Palestinian Authority can assume full responsibility after the defeat of Hamas” in the current war between Israel and the Palestinian movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization.

On the other hand, Sisi rejected the proposal, saying that “Egypt will not play a role in eliminating Hamas because it needs the armed group to help maintain security on the border,” according to what was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The American website Axios reported earlier last week that the CIA director would visit Israel and other countries in the region, including Egypt and Qatar, to discuss the war in Gaza.

The CIA declined to comment on Burns' trip to the region.

Currently, the Palestinian Authority refuses to engage in any formal discussion about how to manage Gaza after the end of the war, insisting instead on the urgent need for a ceasefire.

During a meeting held Monday in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to discuss post-war Gaza administration with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, according to Mahmoud Al-Habbash, a close Abbas advisor who was present at the meeting.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to the Wall Street Journal's request to comment on Al-Habbash's statements.

Reiterating his call for a ceasefire, Abbas told Blinken: “Today is more important than the next day,” blaming Washington for the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

He added: "You, the United States, are the only side that can order the Israelis to stop the aggression."

However, Al-Habbash stressed that the Palestinian government for which he works “expects to participate in the management of the Gaza Strip in the future.” He continued: "The Palestinian Authority is the only side that bears responsibility for Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank."

He continued: "We did not leave Gaza," adding that the authority, which is based in Ramallah, continued to manage some of its ministries in Gaza.

"No to reoccupation"

Reuters reported on Monday that the Palestinian Authority “is still paying the salaries of health care workers in the Gaza Strip, despite Hamas’ management of public institutions, including the health sector.”

Hamas has run the Gaza Strip since 2007, following fighting with the Fatah movement, a year after it won the Palestinian legislative elections.

On Wednesday, the Israeli government considered that it was “too early” to talk about “scenarios” about the future of the Gaza Strip, which must be “demilitarized,” but indicated that it was “consulting with other countries regarding this situation.”

Government spokesman Elon Levy said: “It is too early to talk about post-Hamas scenarios.” He added: "I hope that the post-Hamas phase will happen next week, but it will likely take longer."

On Wednesday, the United States called for restrictions on Israel's control of Gaza after its war with Hamas, sending a general message to Israeli officials about expectations for an expanded Palestinian role there.

Senior American officials called for the Palestinian people to be at the heart of governance in Gaza - united with the West Bank under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he indicated that his country would seek to assume security responsibility in Gaza for an "indefinite period" after the war, raised concerns about Israel's future intentions in the Strip, amid calls made by American officials regarding the importance of not moving forward with this proposal.

Blinken described a vision for rebuilding Gaza, a path toward Israelis and Palestinians living side by side “in their own space, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity, and dignity.”

On the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, he said, "The United States objects to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza."

Speaking from Tokyo, Blinken continued: “There will be no reoccupation of Gaza after the end of the conflict, and no attempt to besiege or besiege Gaza. And no reduction in the territory of Gaza.”

Later, the US National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator, John Kirby, said: "We believe that the Palestinians must be responsible for their future and must be the decisive and active voice in their future."

The new letter from American officials shows how the administration of President Joe Biden differs with some Israeli officials about the future of Gaza, even as Washington continues to support the current Israeli military operation there, according to the same American newspaper.

Blinken's plan comes after a month of calm discussions he held with Israel, regional partners, as well as prominent global diplomats.

Taqa Al-Nuseirat, an analyst for American policy in the Middle East at the Atlantic Council Research Center, said, “This is the clearest statement we have heard about the United States’ perception of Gaza after the war.”

She added in her interview with the Wall Street Journal: “But it is not clear whether the Israeli leadership is thinking in a similar way, which would determine the next stage of the American-Israeli-Arab negotiations.”

The war broke out after a surprise attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, which led to the deaths of more than 1,400 people, the majority of whom were civilians, including women and children, and the kidnapping of about 241 hostages, according to the Israeli authorities.

The death toll from the continuous Israeli bombing of Gaza since then has reached more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, according to the latest toll by the Gaza health authorities.

On Tuesday, the United States, Israel's main ally, expressed its opposition to the possibility of reoccupying the Gaza Strip, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country would "take full responsibility for security" in Gaza for an "indefinite period."

"Blinken is increasingly struggling to bridge the growing gap between Israel, its neighbors, and the international community," said John Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

He continued: "The United States can play a role, but there must be something direct between the Israelis and the Arabs."

source: Alhurra