White House officials fear that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to lead Gaza after the war, even as President Biden continues to revitalize and support the Palestinian Authority's control. This came according to a report by the British newspaper The Telegraph on Saturday evening.

Sources familiar with the talks told the Sunday Telegraph that the issue dominated round-the-clock discussions at the White House, where senior officials spent weeks feverishly formulating proposals on how to manage Gaza.

The newspaper added: “The special American pressure to get Israel to end its attack early in the new year not only highlighted Joe Biden’s desire to end the war, but also highlighted his thoughts about what comes next and revealed a disagreement between Washington and Israel, as The two allies disagree over how to manage the Strip after the cessation of hostilities with Hamas.

It pointed out that senior officials were losing sleep as they worked to develop plans that might be acceptable to all parties concerned, and they stressed that for any party to succeed, it must have the support of the Palestinians, Israel, and their Arab neighbors - a major obstacle that must be overcome given the rampant corruption in the Palestinian Authority and its growing popularity. For Hamas in the West Bank.

It noted that concerns are growing about President Abbas, 88, head of the Palestinian Authority, who has now completed 18 years of his four-year elected term.

It stated: “White House officials are not explicitly saying that Abbas cannot remain in office, but national security sources indicated that behind the scenes the United States is facing the “biological reality” of the situation, and one former official said that the administration is likely to “build our relationship and interactions.” With potential replacements.

“If your goal is stability and security, it's always a bad idea to bet on an 88-year-old smoker,” said Dr. Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

It pointed out that one of the alternative names circulating is Muhammad Dahlan, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza, who has been living in the Emirates for the past decade.

According to the newspaper, Mr. Dahlan is powerful, well-connected and particularly influential in the UAE - a major regional mediator - where he works as a close advisor to the powerful ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and is said to have played a key role behind the scenes in the Abraham Accords, and this makes him more palatable to Israel, as his role in the Oslo Peace Accords.

In a rare interview with The Economist in late October, Mr. Dahlan dismissed rumors that he had been nominated to be the next leader of the Palestinian Authority.

Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, is said to be the favorite of some Egyptian and American officials to lead a new government in Gaza.

Focus on the “strong man”

Dr. Rubin says that while Fayyad enjoys “popularity” in the West, “I think the focus behind the scenes will be on a strong man...and here comes the role of someone like Mohammed Dahlan,” pointing to the broad regional support that Dahlan enjoys and his strong relationships with American intelligence officials.

A former senior national security official declined to reveal potential alternatives to Abbas, citing the sensitivities involved, and stressed that Washington did not want to suggest that “the United States will choose this leader.”

“What is likely happening behind the scenes is that American officials are asking very difficult questions” about what comes next, he said.

American discussions on the future of Gaza seem to accept that one or several regional powers will play the role of guarantor of the Palestinian Authority.

Two security sources said that Jordan, Egypt and the UAE will be decisive countries in this regard, while “important talks” are also taking place with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

One or more countries could be invited to act “as an agent to ensure peace and take responsibility” for rebuilding Gaza, one source added.

According to the Telegraph, the Biden administration's post-war planning, in addition to managing Gaza, consists of two other components: reconstruction and security. The White House hopes to obtain support from the international community, especially wealthy Arab neighbors, to pay for the rebuilding of schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure and security remain one of the most intractable issues.

Most Arab countries are reluctant to provide their own forces, and Biden has ruled out deploying American soldiers on the ground.

In the words of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, he said: “Under what circumstances would any of us want to go and be seen as the enemy and be seen as having come to clean up Israel’s mess?”

International presence

However, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi proposed establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state, guaranteed by an international presence, “whether NATO forces, United Nations forces, or Arab or American forces.”

Sisi's proposal reportedly received some attention from the White House, with one senior official indicating that Hamas's status would be a major factor in the final decision.

The idea of a UN peacekeeping force is unlikely to gain support from Israel, which has long felt that the international body is biased against it.

Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refrained from discussing options for the next day in Gaza, insisting that the entire country focus on the war effort.

But discussions about the future have entered public discourse, with many influential newspapers publishing articles on the need to look to the future.

Yedioth Ahronoth, one of the largest Israeli newspapers, said that it supports the American plan to “hand over the keys” to Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in cooperation with the “revitalized” Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli Walla news website quoted US administration officials as saying that Israel has shown greater willingness than in the past to discuss plans for the future of Gaza.

However, senior Israeli officials have publicly expressed doubts about the Palestinian Authority's participation, while Washington has questioned Israel's proposal to create a "buffer zone" within Gaza's borders.

Anthony Blinken, the top US diplomat, put it another way and said during a recent visit to Tel Aviv: “We have no illusions that this will be easy.”

But he said that “the alternative – more terrorist attacks, more violence, more suffering of innocent people – is unacceptable.”

Source: Sama News