Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken his readiness to "assume power" in the Gaza Strip, but without war or violence, Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
They indicated that Abbas also wanted to ensure the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was assuming responsibilities within the framework of a comprehensive political solution that includes all of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Abbas said that the "crazy Israeli war" on Gaza is the annihilation of the Palestinian cause and the entire Palestinian existence under the political agenda of the far-right government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
He stressed that parties supporting Israel must know that this war has been ongoing since the formation of this cabinet.
Blinken explained that he was visiting Ramallah to confirm that the US administration considered the post-war stage as guidance.
He asserted that before Oct. 07 will not be the same as after that date, reiterating that the US and Western countries support Israel's right to defend itself.
Washington seeks for the current tragic situation to be "a turning point in the region," according to Blinken.
The Secretary stated there were several proposals for the post-war Gaza Strip, noting that the US administration prefers a solution that combines the Palestinian Authority, in cooperation with international organizations, and a peacekeeping force.
He hoped this would open horizons for a political process and ultimately lead to a two-state solution.
The Arab and Western support, "no matter how modest," will be crucial to the efforts aimed at alleviating the deteriorating conditions in Gaza and laying the foundation for what will replace "Hamas" as the ruling authority of the Strip, according to Blinken.
Blinken said that the Middle East tour aimed to mobilize regional support for Washington's efforts to transform the current crisis into an opportunity to move toward reunifying Gaza and the West Bank.
He added that the US administration believes that the Palestinian Authority must be allowed to play a pivotal role in the next stage in Gaza.
However, the Palestinian President linked the return of the Authority to the Strip with a "comprehensive political solution" to the conflict.
Abbas reaffirmed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine.
"We will fully assume our responsibilities within the framework of a comprehensive political solution that includes all of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip."
He called for an immediate halt to the devastating Israeli war on Gaza and urged the swift provision of humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, food, water, electricity, and fuel, to the war-torn enclave.
Abbas said: "We meet again under extremely difficult circumstances, and there are no words to describe the genocidal war and destruction that our Palestinian people in Gaza are enduring at the hands of the Israeli war machinery, with no regard for international law."
"How can we remain silent when ten thousand Palestinians, including four thousand children, have been killed, and tens of thousands have been injured, and when tens of thousands of homes, infrastructure, hospitals, shelters, and water reservoirs have been destroyed?" the President stressed.
Abbas warned against the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, emphasizing complete rejection of this scenario.
He also highlighted the appalling situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where killings and assaults on land, people, and holy sites are taking place at the hands of Israeli occupation forces and extremist settlers who engage in ethnic cleansing, discrimination, and expropriation of Palestinian tax funds.
He called on the US to call for the "immediate halt" of Israeli crimes.
The President reiterated that proper security and peace can only be achieved by ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the 1967 borders.
