‘Palestinian Authority should run Gaza after war’

Jerusalem: The Palestinian Prime Minister says it’s unacceptable for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future, as Israel and Hamas appear to be at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to end 15 months of war.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine,” Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said Wednesday. He was visiting Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognised a Palestinian state in May. Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Western-backed Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Mustafa said “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.” The US has called for a revitalised Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza.