UAE Discussions With Israel-US Discuss Temporary Government In Gaza Postwar

Conditions in Gaza/WFP/Jaber Badwan

JAKARTA - The United Arab Emirates discussed with Israel and the United States to participate in the interim government in postwar Gaza until the reformed Palestinian Authority could take over.

The behind-the-scenes discussions reported by Reuters for the first time, cover the possibility of the UAE and the United States, along with other countries, temporarily overseeing Gaza's governance, security and reconstruction after the Israeli military withdrew and to date. Palestinian rule is able to take over, dozens of foreign diplomats and Western officials told Reuters.

The UAE is a close security partner of the US and, unlike most Arab countries, the UAE has diplomatic ties to Israel. Diplomats and officials say this gives the Gulf state an influence on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

After more than a year of war, Israel is still reluctant to outline their own vision for Gaza and the international community has struggled to formulate a viable plan, the source said, asking not to be named because the talks are private.

Diplomats and officials emphasized that the ideas raised from the UAE negotiations were less detailed and had not been filtered into formal, written, or adopted plans by any government.

In behind-the-scenes negotiations, Abu Dhabi advocated reform of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to rule Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem under an independent Palestinian state, the source said, "something Israel publicly opposes."

The UAE will not participate in any plans that fail to include significant reforms to the Palestinian Authority, its empowerment, and the formation of a credible roadmap towards a Palestinian state, a UAE official told Reuters when answering questions about the discussion.

These 'Elements' which are currently lacking are very important for the success of the post-Gaza plan, "he added.

PA was founded three decades ago under the 1993-1995 Oslo Agreement, signed by Israel and Palestine, and is given limited authority over the West Bank and Gaza.

The group is still running some governments in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but they were taken over from Gaza in 2007 by Hamas after a brief civil war.

A US State Department spokesman told Reuters there had been talks with several partners, including the UAE, regarding governance, security and reconstruction options, and various draft proposals, plans, and ideas have been submitted by partners.

"This is a continuing deliberative discussion, as we look for the best way forward," the spokesperson said, but declined to comment further on the "private diplomatic conversation".

In addition to reforming the Palestinian Authority, four diplomats and Western officials said Emirati officials had suggested the use of private military contractors as part of the postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza.

Other sources confirmed they had been briefed on what they described as a postwar United Arab Emirates proposal, which included possible use of the force.

Diplomats and Western officials said the deployment of such contractors would spark concern among Western countries.

Private military contractors, leased by the United States and other countries, have faced charges of torture, human rights abuses, and the use of excessive force, among others, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.