Netanyahu: Palestinian Authority Will Not Rule Gaza As Long As I'm Israeli Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (black clothes) visited his troops in Gaza November 26. (Source: GPO/Avi Ohayon)

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would not take power in Gaza while he was prime minister, underscoring differences between the Israeli and US governments regarding governance in the enclave following the Israel-Hamas war.

"As long as I am Prime Minister, this will not happen. Anyone who educates his children to carry out terror, funds terror, and supports the families of terrorists, cannot control Gaza after we eradicate Hamas," Netanyahu wrote in X, as reported by CNN, December 7.

His comments came after Sky News Arabia reported on Wednesday that PA President Mahmoud Abbas expressed the readiness of the body he leads to take over power in Gaza and the West Bank.

US President Joe Biden said last month that the Palestinian Authority should rule the Gaza Strip and West Bank after the war.

"As we work toward peace, Gaza and the West Bank must be reunited under one governing structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution," Biden said in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post.

However, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​a PA-led government in Gaza after the war.

"I think the Palestinian Authority in its current form is incompetent to take responsibility for Gaza," PM Netanyahu said at a November 18 press conference.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) must retain control over the disarmament of the Gaza Strip after the war, rejecting the idea that international forces could be responsible for security in the Palestinian enclave.

This is not the first time Netanyahu has called for post-war Israeli military control of Gaza.

"The day after (the war): Gaza must be disarmed. And for Gaza to be disarmed, there is only one force that can ensure that and that force is the IDF," PM Netanyahu said at a press conference.

"No international force is responsible for that," he continued.

"We see what is happening elsewhere where international forces are being deployed for disarmament purposes," he stressed.

It is known that the solution to the future of Gaza after the war has not yet come to light, except to ensure that Hamas does not return to power in the region.

כל עוד אני ראש ממשלת ישראל - זה לא יקרה.

מי שמחנך את ילדיו לטרור, מממן טרור ותומך במשפחות מחבלים, לא יוכל לשלוט בעזה לאחר שנחסל את החמאס. pic.twitter.com/NgeOWqZOY9

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) December 6, 2023-