A Palestinian Statelet in Gaza
Keywords: 
Israeli occupation
intra-Palestinian reconciliation
Hamas
Fatah
Gaza Strip
Trump administration
Disengagement plan
Oslo process
Palestinian Authority
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Abstract: 

Fatah leaders routinely accuse Hamas of plotting to establish an “emirate” in the Gaza Strip. Gaza is in fact turning into a statelet separate from the West Bank, but it is Israeli policies that are driving the “Gaza is Palestine” option with a series of measures that have been implemented since the early 1990s to sever Gaza from the West Bank. This development has intensified under the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump. In the White House’s vision for Middle East peace, which turns the West Bank into a series of isolated Bantustans enveloped by Israeli territory and shorn of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip becomes the centerpiece of any future Palestinian entity. The international community, laser focused on avoiding another war in Gaza, has prioritized the humanitarian over the political crisis, furthering the excision of the Palestinian territory. As aid flows directly into Gaza, bypassing Ramallah, and Israel and Hamas negotiate a long-term ceasefire, the Palestinian Authority (PA) finds itself increasingly marginalized.

Author biography: 

José S. Vericat is The Carter Center’s Israel-Palestine country representative/field office director. He has a PhD in Oriental studies from the University of Oxford and a MA in international relations from Columbia University. He researches the Islamic discourse in Palestine. The views expressed in this essay are the author’s alone and do not reflect those of The Carter Center.