Israeli officials are quietly throwing their support behind a United Arab Emirates proposal to install a former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as the head of a PA administration in post-war Gaza.
“Minister [of Strategic Affairs] Ron Dermer expressed full support for the Emirati proposal,” Israeli and Arab political sources confirmed to The Press Service of Israel. “This idea is acceptable to Israel, aligning with Defence Minister Galant’s ‘defence islands’ plan,” which would develop local administration in various areas of Gaza.
Representatives of the US, Israel and UAE met last Thursday, July 25, to discuss Gaza’s post-war governance.
Key to the discussions was an Emirati proposal to establish a new, revised Palestinian Authority in Gaza, potentially headed by Salam Fayyad, the former Palestinian Prime Minister.
Fayyad, an economist by profession, is not affiliated with the Fatah movement and has a reputation as a critic of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Fayyad’s candidacy is reportedly supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates.
The Emirati plan involves multiple components, including establishing a reformed Palestinian Authority that operates independently of Abbas’s control.
An Arab source familiar with the discussions told TPS-IL, “This reflects the sentiment in some Arab countries that advocate for the slogan ‘No Abbas, no Hamas.’”
The plan also proposes the presence of Arab and foreign forces in Gaza to maintain public order. The Emiratis envision Egyptian, Moroccan and Qatari participation in creating a security corridor spanning the Gaza Strip from north to south.
Israeli officials welcomed this approach, emphasising the importance of a moderate Arab coalition.
“We do not intend to reinstate Abu Mazen’s rule in Gaza, as he is considered irrelevant,” high-ranking sources in the Israeli security establishment told TPS-IL. “The involvement of Saudi and Emirati forces is crucial, especially with the shifting strategic focus towards the Iranian issue.”
The sources explained, “Both the Emirates and the Saudis are not fans of Abu Mazen and they want to turn their strategic attention to the Iranian issue from now on.”
In a gesture possibly related to these diplomatic efforts, Israel on Wednesday approved the transfer of 250 wounded and sick Gaza residents to the UAE for medical treatment.
The patients will be transferred from Gaza to the Ramon Airport in the Negev and then flown to the UAE. The Emirates has taken a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including building hospitals and supplying food and medical supplies.
The aid deliveries have been partly coordinated through Muhammad Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official and rival of Abbas now living in exile in the Emirates.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7.
