Abbas adviser Ziad Abu Amr proposed as postwar administrator in Gaza

Gaza-born American citizen suggested to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during meeting in Riyadh, sources say

Ziad Abu Amr speaks at a UN Security Council meeting in April 2024. Anadolu

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A presidential adviser to the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas could become the postwar administrator of the Gaza Strip under a proposal put to US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Riyadh, a senior Palestinian security source in Ramallah told The National.

Ziad Abu Amr, a US citizen who was born in Gaza, is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and held the post of deputy prime minister until last year. Under the proposal, he would be appointed deputy prime minister again and would oversee the reconstruction process in Gaza, the source said.

The meeting in Riyadh took place between PLO Secretary General Hussein Al Sheikh and Mr Witkoff on January 28, international and Israeli news outlets reported, citing White House officials. However, Mr Al Sheikh has denied that the meeting took place.

"Hussein Al Sheikh's recent movement and his meeting with Saudi officials, coinciding with his meeting in Riyadh with Trump's special envoy Witkoff, are linked to possible arrangements for the post-Gaza war period," a Palestinian political source in Ramallah told The National.

"Hussein Al Sheikh carried messages exchanged between (Mahmoud Abbas) Abu Mazen's authority, the Saudis, and the American envoy, particularly related to the role of the Palestinian Authority with regard to the management of Gaza, which the Americans want to be without Hamas."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last year appointed Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa head of a technocratic government in response to calls for reforms to the Palestinian Authority, which is widely viewed by Palestinians and regional actors as corrupt.

However, regional powers do not consider the change to be sufficient for the Palestinian Authority to be able govern postwar Gaza, according to analysis by Dr Ebtisam Al Ketbi, head of the Emirates Policy Centre, published in August last year.

"The UAE, along with other international and regional parties, holds the view that the new Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas last March to succeed Mohammad Shtayyeh, lacks the independence and capability to implement the necessary reforms," Dr Al Ketbi wrote.

Working committee

Despite pressure from states in the region, both Palestinian sources said there are "no talks" about a replacement for Mr Mustafa as prime minister or the formation of a new Palestinian government. The Palestinian Cabinet decided to form a "working committee to manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip" at a meeting on Tuesday.

"In confirmation of the unity of the Palestinian state's territories, and in order to strengthen national unity, the Palestinian government ... has decided to form a working committee to manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip," Mr Mustafa said in a statement published by the official news agency Wafa. This will entail mobilising efforts with Jordan and Egypt to send more aid to Gaza, investigate Israeli war crimes and regulate markets ahead of Ramadan, the statement said.

Officials from rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have been meeting for months to discuss the formation of a unity committee to govern Gaza, as suggested by Egypt. However, the Palestinian Authority does not favour this option, which it considers an affirmation of disunity between the West Bank and Gaza as Palestinian territories, a Fatah official told The National.