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Gaza truce deal: Blinken calls for post-war reconstruction and governance
Blinken reiterated the plan for Palestinian authority to invite international partners to form an interim government to oversee services and governance in Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called for a plan on Gaza's post-war reconstruction and governance as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas nears.
In a speech to the Atlantic Council, Blinken promoted the proposal, which has been in development for a year, and emphasised the need to ensure its success after the Biden administration.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that the strategic gains of the last 15 months endure and lay the foundation for a better future,” Blinken said.
“All too often, the Middle East, we've seen how the shoes of one dictator can be filled by another, or give way to conflict and chaos,” he added.
Read: Gaza ceasefire 'closer than ever' as sides work on final details
Blinken reiterated that the plan, which he has previously detailed, involves the Palestinian authority inviting “international partners” to establish an interim governing authority to manage essential services and oversee the region.
He added that Arab states, along with other partners, would contribute forces for an interim security mission.
The Gaza plan was just one component of Blinken's speech, which also addressed other key areas of the administration's Middle East strategy, including Iran and the potential normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Blinken, along with his senior aides, has spent months working to convince Israel, the Palestinian authority, and Gulf Arab nations to support the plan, which outlines governance in Gaza without Hamas, focuses on reconstruction priorities, and ensures security in the territory devastated by the war that erupted in October 2023 following Hamas attacks in Israel.
Throughout several visits to the region since January, Blinken successfully gained the support of Gulf Arab states—many of which would contribute to reconstruction efforts—to back the proposal.
The plan includes reforms for the Palestinian authority and urges Arab countries to assist in training PA security forces in Gaza.
The urgency of keeping the Gaza plan alive even without a ceasefire became more intense after the November election of President-elect Donald Trump. US officials have brought Trump aides into the discussions over the past month to get their buy-in on the plan, which will require significant American involvement during Trump's presidency.
With AP inputs
