While the Biden administration has continued negotiations for a new ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the US has also been developing plans how Gaza and the Palestinian Territories in general should be governed, in the future.
After the US, Israel and the United Arab Emirates had a secret meeting in order to discuss their post-war plans for Gaza, last week, the UAE suggested that a temporary international mission should be sent to Gaza. The mission would be “responsible for efficiently responding to the humanitarian crisis the citizens in Gaza are facing, establishing law and order, laying the groundwork for governance, and paving the way to reunite Gaza and the West Bank under a single, legitimate Palestinian Authority.” The Emirati government had stated already before the meeting that “the Israeli government would need to allow the Palestinian Authority to have a role in governing Gaza and agree to a political process based on the two-state solution while the US would have a leadership role in any day-after initiative.” (1)
Middle East Eye reported on Sunday that the US, Israel and the UAE “are working towards the creation of a national committee of Palestinian leaders and business figures that will administer Gaza once the war ends.” That national committee “would function as the main representative of all Palestinian factions, but in reality, all of its members would be loyal to exiled former Fatah leader and Palestinian strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who could eventually be installed as successor to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.” (2)
Mohammed Dahlan is a particularly interesting person. He was born in Khan Yunis, Gaza, in 1961. He rose in the ranks of the Palestinian organization Fatah and was leader of the Palestinian Preventive Security apparatus in Gaza from 1995 to 2000 after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994. He has cooperated during several decades with CIA and Israeli intelligence agencies Shin Bet and Mossad in various operations in Palestine and elsewhere. In 2007, President of the US George W. Bush described Dahlan as “our boy”. In 2019, Türkiye added Dahlan to its list of most wanted terrorists because of his involvement in the failed coup attempt in Türkiye in 2016. Türkiye has also offered 700,000 US Dollars for information leading to the arrest of Dahlan. (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
In 2011, Dahlan was expelled from Fatah after falling out with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. The PA accused Dahlan of corrution and conspiring against President Abbas. Fatah has also claimed that Dahlan poisoned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004. Since 2011, Dahlan has lived in exile in the UAE where he has become top adviser to President Mohamed Bin Zayed. (4, 9, 10)
Several major Western media outlets, such as The Economist, France24.com, TIME, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, have published articles about Dahlan or have interviewed him since the war between Hamas and Israel started. Dahlan has denied that he would be interested in becoming the new leader of the Palestinians. However, he reportedly said during the interview with The New York Times in February that Arab states would support a new “independent Palestinian leader” who would “push PA President Mahmoud Abbas aside to a ceremonial role”. (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
** The post was updated again 30.7.2024. References 7, 8 and 11 were added.
References:
(1) “UAE proposes temporary international mission to restore order in Gaza” Middle East Monitor 26.7.2024
(2) “US, Israel and UAE working to create new body to govern post-war Gaza” Middle East Eye 28.7.2024
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-israel-uae-create-new-body-govern-post-war-gaza
(3) Information about Mohammed Dahlan in Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Dahlan
(4) “Dahlan: UAE agent, plotter against peoples’ will” Anadolu Agency 15.12.2019
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/dahlan-uae-agent-plotter-against-peoples-will/1673526#
(5) “Palestine papers: Mohammed Dahlan” The Guardian 25.1.2011
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/25/palestine-papers-muhammad-dahlan
(6) “Turkey offers $700,000 bounty for Mohammed Dahlan” Al Jazeera 23.11.2019
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/23/turkey-offers-700000-bounty-for-mohammed-dahlan
(7) “How did Turkey catch Mohammed Dahlan’s spy ring?” Daily Sabah 22.4.2019
(8) “Mohammad Dahlan’s shady regional agenda” The New Arab 2.12.2019
https://www.newarab.com/opinion/mohammad-dahlans-shady-regional-agenda
(9) “Fatah Report Claims Dahlan Poisoned Arafat and Stole Millions” IMEMC News 10.8.2011
https://imemc.org/article/61822/
(10) “Exiled Palestinian official: Arab states will support an independent leader in Gaza” The Times of Israel 14.2.2024
(11) “A vision for the Palestinians after the war” The Economist 30.10.2023
(12) “Could exiled former Palestinian leader Mohammed Dahlan lead Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war?” France24.com 12.11.2023
(13) “Exclusive: Palestinian Leader Mohammed Dahlan on Israel, Hamas, and the Prospect of Peace” TIME 21.11.2023
https://time.com/6337833/mohammed-dahlan-exclusive-palestine-israel/
(14) “A Palestinian Exile Champions an Arab Vision for Gaza” The New York Times 14.2.2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/world/middleeast/mohammed-dahlan-interview-gaza-uae.html
(15) “Once Hamas’s Sworn Enemy, a Palestinian Exile Rises as a Potential Postwar Strongman” The Wall Street Journal 25.7.2024
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