The Palestinian Authority said on Friday evening that they're ready to take full responsibility for governing the Gaza Strip, according to Friday reports citing Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's office.
Abbas's office issued this statement shortly after a hostage release, ceasefire deal was announced.
According to the statement, "The Palestinian government has completed all preparations to assume full responsibilities in the Strip and that the government administrative and security personnel were fully prepared to carry out their tasks in order to alleviate the suffering inflicted on the Gaza population, allow displaced persons to return to their houses, restore essential services to the Strip, assume responsibility for the border crossings and help commence Gaza reconstruction."
The Palestinian Authority also asked the international community to to offer urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave in order "to enable the government to shoulder its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people," Palestinian state media WAFA reported.
The report also noted the PA commending efforts made by Qatar and Egypt, the mediators of the deal.
Blinken's disparagement of the PA
On Tuesday, the PA was disparaged by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his final foreign policy speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington for their "refusal to consistently and unequivocally condemn Hamas’s killings of October 7."
He continued by saying that this refusal "has only entrenched doubts among Israelis that the two communities can never live side by side in peace, as have the PA’s payments of the families of terrorists and the antisemitic remarks of its leader."
However, Blinken also slammed Israel for “systematically undermining the capacity and legitimacy” of the PA as "the only viable alternative to Hamas."
A day after Blinken's comments, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa spoke at a conference in Norway and said that the PA must be the sole governing power in Gaza after the war. He stressed that "While we are waiting for the ceasefire, it is important to stress that it won't be acceptable for any other entity to govern the Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the state of Palestine."
Hannah Sarisohn and Reuters contributed to this report.