US eyes Palestinian Authority control of Gaza: Abbas's popularity at record low amid peace talks
7:26 PM EST, December 16, 2023
In Ramallah, Abbas met with Sullivan and asserted that the US must also exert pressure on Israel to prevent their aggression on the people of the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
The WAFA statement read, "Emphasizing that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Palestinian state, the President reasserted that any attempt to isolate it or detach any part of it is unacceptable."
The Associated Press reported that Sullivan, who had earlier met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Galant, discussed with Abbas the future of the Palestinian enclave after the war. The US desires the Palestinian Authority and its security forces to take control of the Gaza Strip, in what could be an initial step towards the creation of a Palestinian state.
However, recent polls indicate that Abbas is not popular amongst Palestinians. A massive 88% of the respondents, spanning both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, believe he should resign.
Sullivan's meeting with Netanyahu
Earlier on Friday, Sullivan stated, post his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, that the focus of the war in the Gaza Strip would shift towards precision targeting of Hamas leaders and operations based on intelligence data.
Sullivan did not provide details on when this transition to a new phase would happen during the press conference. He did, however, announce that discussions regarding this matter would continue with Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet, in the presence of Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin, who is due to visit Tel Aviv soon.
After several days of conflict, Abbas lost control of the Gaza Strip when Islamist Hamas ousted his forces, committing war crimes in the process, which included throwing opponents off tall buildings.
The past general elections in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank occurred 17 years ago. As per the results of public opinion polls last week, an overwhelming majority (90%) of Palestinians believe that the 88-year-old President Abbas should resign, as the AP highlighted.
