Palestine Authority presents Gaza day-after plan, while US truce draft allows Israel to continue war

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has presented the US with a 101-page document detailing its plans for Gaza after the ongoing war comes to an end, Israeli media reported.

According to Israel's Channel 12, the plan does not contain information on who will assume responsibility for security in Gaza after the war ends but emphasises the need for large-scale international assistance to meet the authority's needs, including reconstruction for the enclave which has been devastated by a 10-month blitz.

The report states that the document also didn’t specify how the PA intends to put a halt to Hamas’ capabilities, adding that US officials have already rejected the document, which was prepared by a team appointed by the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.

The Hebrew-language channel added there is also no information in the document on what international presence the PA wants to see in Gaza on the ‘day after’ and doesn’t address what Hamas’ role will be in the future. There has been talk of a pan-Arab force being established in Gaza but this issue remains highly sensitive.

However, the document states that the PA pledges to ensure its staff in Gaza are paid the same as those in the occupied West Bank. According to Channel 12, the PA only submitted the document after mounting pressure from the US to detail what President Mahmoud Abbas’ plans are for Gaza.

The plan was delivered to the State Department last month, and states "the government of Palestine will assume full authority over all administrative, civil and security affairs in Gaza, in accordance with the powers and responsibilities granted to it in the Palestinian Basic Law".

Meanwhile, the US has already drafted an approval that would allow Israel to continue the war on Gaza if the second phase of the proposed truce does not go ahead, Israeli news site Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday.

Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden discussed the issue recently in Washington and guarantees that Israel is not obliged to agree to a permanent ceasefire under any circumstance, according to the report.

Netanyahu reportedly told members of the security establishment in a meeting that this is the message he wants to deliver to the Israeli public.

The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said that Netanyahu has in recent days added further conditions to the truce proposal, citing a report in Channel 13.

The conditions include that Palestinians released from Israeli jails will be deported to foreign countries, such as Turkey or Qatar, rather than being allowed to return to Gaza or the West Bank.

Channel 13 quoted sources familiar with the negotiations as saying that "this is another change to President Biden’s proposal" and that "any change to the proposal at this stage harms the chances of reaching an agreement".

The day after plan and draft approval comes as Israel’s war on Gaza rages on, with over 39,623 Palestinians killed in the enclave since 7 October and an additional 91,000 wounded in the same time frame.