US emphasis on PA in Gaza reconstruction risks ‘backfire’

A State Dept official has previously said a goal of the aid structure was ‘reintroducing and reintegrating’ PA in Gaza.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has completed a tour of the Middle East, promising to work towards “equality” for Palestinians, while assuring Israel that its longtime support would remain unwavering following an 11-day escalation with Hamas, the Palestinian faction that runs the besieged Gaza Strip. The Biden administration has said the US would “partner” with the Palestinian Authority (PA), along with the United Nations, Egypt and Gulf countries, to funnel aid to Gaza, promising to “work with our partners closely … to ensure that Hamas does not benefit” from the $360m it pledged for reconstruction and Palestinian development. The PA, which is dominated by the Fatah party, remained largely on the sidelines of the recent escalation in violence. The PA has exercised limited authority in Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007, following a brief civil war between Fatah and Hamas after the latter won the 2006 elections.