Palestinian security forces have arrested businessman Samir Hulileh, who last month presented himself as a possible governor of Gaza, Palestinian security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Preventive Security Service detained Hulileh on Wednesday in Ramallah, days after he returned from a trip abroad. The arrest took place inside a restaurant in the city’s al-Tira neighborhood, they added.
The sources did not specify the charges against Hulileh, saying only that the move came on “high-level orders.” Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Hulileh had recently been under close watch over his reported involvement in discussions about Gaza’s post-war administration.
Hulileh stirred controversy weeks ago when he declared himself a candidate to run Gaza with US backing, saying he had raised the proposal several times with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) swiftly rejected the claim in a statement last month, calling his remarks “lies” and accusing him of trying to drag the leadership into an Israeli project aimed at separating Gaza from the West Bank. The presidency said Gaza’s administration is solely a matter for the PA and its government.
Officials later warned Hulileh to step back, describing the initiative as linked to “suspicious” and “intelligence” circles. Abbas himself privately told him early on to distance himself from the issue, sources said.
His detention signals that the PA will not tolerate any attempt to form alternative arrangements for governing Gaza, even by Palestinians, outside its official framework. Abbas has repeatedly insisted the PA will resume governing Gaza after the war, while welcoming possible Arab or international participation.
The debate began after Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported last month on behind-the-scenes contacts to appoint Hulileh as Gaza’s administrator. Hulileh confirmed the report, saying he had long been in touch with various actors on Gaza and that a Canadian contractor working with Washington had reached out to him months ago about managing the territory after the war.
While he said he would only take on such a role with Palestinian, Arab and international consent, Hulileh did not back away from the idea. In an interview with Kan, he urged both the PA and Hamas to put the Palestinian people’s interests first.
Hulileh, a prominent economist, served as secretary-general of the Palestinian government under the late Ahmed Qurei in 2005. He has chaired the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, the Palestinian Trade Center (PalTrade), and the Palestinian stock exchange. He also took part in the Palestinian negotiating team that handled the economic files of the Oslo Accords with Israel.
