US Ambassador: Washington held talks with Arab countries to govern Gaza after the war.
The US ambassador to the occupied territories, Mike Huckabee, told Reuters that the US has held talks with some Gulf Arab states about the possibility of them running the Gaza Strip after the war ends.
He said that talks had been held about establishing an interim government system with the participation of the Gulf Arab states, and that the US would likely have an oversight role in this regard, while a decision on permanent arrangements would be made later.
At the same time, Huckabee noted: “This is just a discussion. It is not something that the US government, Israel or anyone else has accepted. I don’t know if anything is ready to be signed.”
Huckabee described the financial support of the Palestinian Authority for the families of Palestinian martyrs as support for the families of those he said were involved in “terrorist acts,” and said that if the PA continues to pay these families, Washington will not join any plan that the PA is part of.
“Why would we ask for something that violates our law? We would never do that,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee did not say when the talks were held or which Gulf Arab states were involved, and the countries did not respond to requests for comment, citing the end of normal business hours.
Reuters reported in January that the UAE had been in talks with the United States and Israel about participating in a post-war interim administration for the Gaza Strip that would include the Palestinian Authority. The agency reported in May that the United States had held separate talks about the possibility of leading a post-war interim administration for the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, opposes the Palestinian Authority’s participation in governing the Gaza Strip and has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state.