Will the world stand with Israel on disarming Gaza? US Secretary of State Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Illustrative. Photo Courtesy of US State Department.
For years Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip with no real competition, but the United States wants that to change. Hamas forced out their opponents—the Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas—but the Americans now want the PA to increase their power in Gaza, especially at the crossings into the Strip. The entrance points are key, since there are serious concerns Hamas could smuggle into Gaza weapons—or supplies that can build weapons.
In comments on Sunday at the Gaza Donors Conference, released by the State Department, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the PA customs officials “should” be at the Gaza crossings, and that the world “can and should help the PA to expand its control in Gaza.” The problem? No one has said when that can happen.
The Ma’an News Agency reported that the new unity government, which was backed by Hamas, said they would not be taking over the Gaza crossings on the day that had been previously announced. Ma’an noted that the PA control of the crossings is a key part of the deal with Israel in which Israel would scale back their restrictions on the Gaza crossings.
Kerry, in his comments, highlighted the importance of the PA’s involvement in monitoring the final use of goods in Gaza. In the past, Hamas has used building materials to construct terror tunnels that stretched into Israel for ambushes and kidnappings. Dozens of these tunnels were destroyed by Israel in the last war.
Said Kerry of the increased PA role in Gaza, “This is absolutely essential, because as long as there is a possibility that Hamas could fire rockets on Israeli civilians at any time, the people of Gaza will remain at risk of future conflict.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, October 12, 2014)