The Palestinian Authority (PA) cannot replace Hamas in governing the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli author and thought leader Einat Wilf.
GAZA’S FUTURE
(קרדיט: ILTV)
Speaking to ILTV News, Wilf explained that the issue extends beyond Hamas alone.
“The problem is ‘Palestinianism’ as an identity, as an ideology that tragically organized an entire people over the obsession of the nonexistence of a Jewish state,” Wilf said. “Hamas is merely the most brutal and recent executive arm of Palestinianism, but the Palestinian Authority shares the same vision of no Jewish state.”
Wilf emphasized that the difference between the PA and Hamas lies in their approach: the PA aims to destroy Israel diplomatically by working to isolate it as a pariah state. Wilf pointed out that Hamas remains “hugely popular” in the West Bank and argued that the PA has not distanced itself from the events of October 7 or from Hamas.
She also urged the American administration to recognize that “you cannot want for the Palestinians a state they have never wanted for themselves if it has to live next to a Jewish state.”
Her comments were made a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed an Atlantic Council event, where he proposed a plan for Gaza’s governance after Hamas is eradicated. Blinken encouraged the Palestinian Authority to play a role in Gaza’s future.