A Neutral Committee to Administer Gaza

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Professor Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The Arab demand since 1967 has been for Israel’s unconditional withdrawal from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in accordance with what is called international law, which does not permit the occupation of others’ land by force. In 2004 Israel decided to leave the Gaza Strip unilaterally and without coordinating with anyone, exactly as it had done from South Lebanon. The reason is that Israel could no longer bear the security and economic costs of its presence in the Strip.

The problem is that the Palestinian Authority launched a campaign with Israel, America, and Europe to coordinate with it regarding the Israeli withdrawal. Israel found in this something that served it from a security standpoint, in terms of liquidating the resistance and turning the fighting factions into mere political parties. This, along with the legal, settlement-related, and financial problems that accompanied it, led to a delay in the Israeli withdrawal. And because the Authority inserted itself into the matter, with support from Arab states, Israel and America asked the Authority to prove its security and military capabilities. This led to the military assault on Palestinian resistance fighters on July 14–15, 2005.

So that we may avoid the clashes that are to be expected, I propose:

That the Authority acknowledge that Israel is withdrawing from Gaza as a flight, and because of the security and economic burdens it bears;

That the Authority acknowledge that this Israeli exit is not subject to the negotiating process, but rather to the logic of the historical conflict, and that in the end the security agency granted to the Authority by Israel does not apply to it;

…has endured across the years and offered immense sacrifices — an achievement belonging to its resistant factions;

The administration of the Gaza Strip is not subject to the agreements with Israel, and an administration independent of Israeli and American will ought to be formed;

The Palestinian Authority should stop coordinating with Israel and the United States, and leave the matter to the Palestinian people in Gaza to decide for themselves what they see fit;

So that it becomes possible to form a free administration that constitutes the nucleus for establishing a free Palestinian state, a Palestinian administration should now be formed in the Strip, run by independent Palestinian professionals from various fields, with the Palestinian Authority making room for this formation;

The Palestinian factions should agree on three independent, leading figures unaffiliated with Palestinian factions to form a temporary administration for the Strip, carrying out the following two tasks: first, managing the day-to-day affairs of the Strip; and second, arranging elections in the Strip to produce an administration in accordance with the popular will;

Everyone commits to abide by the results of the elections.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “لجنة محايدة لإدارة قطاع غزة” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.