Dozens Of Kumpul Delegations In Brussels Discuss Gaza Reconstruction And Security

JAKARTA More than 60 delegates met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss reconstruction, governance, and security in the war-torn Gaza Strip as well as reform of the Palestinian Authority.

France and Saudi Arabia chaired the Palestinian Donors Group meeting, which focuses on reforming the Palestinian Authority (PA) through a US peace plan approved by the United Nations Security Council (UN).

PA currently manages semi-autonomous regions in Israel's occupied West Bank, and is working hard to become part of postwar Gaza.

The European Union, the largest financial supporter of the Palestinian Authority, hopes to effectively rule Gaza after deep reforms. But the US demands the PA reform first, and Israel rejects any role for PA in Gaza.

Reported by the Associated Press, Thursday, November 20, the meeting will not seek funding promises for Gaza reconstruction. An upcoming event in Egypt is being planned to raise the funds.

While so far it has not become a major player in negotiations over the future of the region, the European Union has become increasingly vocal in its efforts to secure its role in forming postwar Gaza.

The European Union plans to train 3,000 Palestinian police to secure the Gaza Strip. French Foreign Minister Jean-Nool Barrot promised 100 French police officers for the mission.

The US plan calls for the Israeli military to slowly hand over territory in Gaza to this joint police force and the International Stabilization Forces that continue to advance.

The European Union has a small number of US-run diplomats and military officers at the US-military command center in southern Israel overseeing the peace plan.

The European Union is seeking membership in the unestablished Peace Council, which in a UN-backed plan gives the highest authority in Gaza, while "the technocratic and apolitic committee consisting of competent Palestinians" will carry out daily civilian services in the coastal enclave.

The European Union is pushing for the committee to be largely removed from the Palestinian Authority government led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

At the age of 90, Abbas still holds authoritarian rule in small areas of the West Bank, but is increasingly marginalized and weakened by Israel, highly unpopular among Palestinians, and struggles to gain votes in the postwar Gaza Strip.