Gaza, the Heart of the National Project.. and the Reconciliation Government as its Carrier for Renewing Legitimacy

After two years of the genocide suffered by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the major questions regarding national fate can no longer be postponed. The absence of the authority's role in addressing the political and humanitarian demands resulting from the atrocities of genocide, along with its policy of distancing itself, has only led to further marginalization of its role, and encouraged the extremist Israeli right to proceed with annexation and liquidation plans, including reducing the authority's role. This has created a political and administrative vacuum that can no longer be ignored. In this critical moment, building a studied national transitional phase led by an independent transitional consensus government becomes not just an organizational option, but a strategic necessity to protect the Palestinian people and preserve the national project.

The Absence of Authority: The Legitimacy and Administrative Crisis

The long absence of the Palestinian Authority from Gaza has not been just an administrative crisis; it has formed a state of erosion of political legitimacy. The ongoing inability to manage the sector and provide basic services has led to a lack of public trust and reduced the ability to lead Palestinian society in its most difficult moments.

With the collapse caused by the atrocities of genocide at all levels, the sector has become hostage to Israeli policies and various external influences, which imposes on Palestinians the necessity of rebuilding the political system and creating a comprehensive plan for managing Gaza within the national project. The absence of the Authority has also left a gap that Israel exploited to weaken the links between Gaza and the West Bank, imposing a reality of forced separation that puts the future of the Palestinian cause at stake. This equation compels all Palestinian forces to treat Gaza not just as a disaster-stricken sector, but as the heart of the national project that cannot be bypassed.

The Extremist Israeli Right and the Project to Dismantle Gaza and Liquidate the National Cause

The fascist Tel Aviv government deals with Gaza as a "demographic problem" and an opportunity to re-engineer the sector to fit its liquidation project. This project is based on three main axes:

1.     Weakening the sector economically and socially through ongoing destruction, preventing reconstruction, and creating unlivable conditions.

2.     Preventing the emergence of a unified Palestinian authority extending from the West Bank to Gaza, which deprives the Palestinian people of any future political horizon.

3.     Imposing an alternative or temporary administration to ensure the continuation of division and separation of Gaza from the West Bank.

In the face of this project, the national goal becomes clear: to reunify the sector and the West Bank within a comprehensive Palestinian political system that cannot be bypassed or dismantled.

Hamas: An Opportunity to Transform from a Division Authority into a Potential Stability Actor

Despite criticism, Hamas remains the primary player in Gaza. Its presence is not just a political force, but a social and military extension that reaches broad sectors of society. The positive future for the sector depends on Hamas's ability to transform from a divisive authority into a partner characterized by national responsibility within the Palestinian political system.

Ensuring success in this transformation requires serious readiness to participate in a national transitional phase led by an independent consensus government away from quota-sharing and factionalism, under the supervision of a nationally agreed-upon reference framework within the Palestine Liberation Organization, which should include everyone without conditions or exclusions, and formulating a specific plan to integrate military apparatuses within a clear national vision that balances security and resistance. In this way, Hamas can transform from a factor of division into a lever of stability and unity, playing a positive role in unifying the sector with the West Bank.

The National Obligations of the Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Authority today faces a real test, as it is required to take bold steps to rebuild its legitimacy and strengthen its national role:

1. Rebuilding and activating the Palestine Liberation Organization to become the highest national umbrella for all Palestinian forces.

2. Renewing political legitimacy through general elections or a national agreement that restores the people's natural and constitutional right to choose their leadership, and as a component of their right to self-determination without tutelage.

3. Forming an independent transitional consensus government capable of managing Gaza and the West Bank, unifying the national entity away from factional tug-of-war.

4. Reforming security apparatuses to make them subject to the law and serving citizens, and achieving national consensus on the concept of resistance within a coordinated national framework.

5. Adopting a clear political strategy to confront the Israeli project, without contenting oneself with international intermediaries.
Without these obligations, the Authority will have no real role in rebuilding Gaza and will not ensure the unity of national decision.

The Transitional Phase: A Bridge for National Unity

The transitional phase is not just a temporary arrangement, but a bridge connecting the previous division to the unifying national future. It is based on four essential elements:

1. An independent transitional consensus government: manages civil affairs, reorganizes services and infrastructure, away from factional quota-sharing.

2. A unified security framework: ending the duality of security and military apparatuses, and integrating resistance within a balanced national vision.

3. Political and institutional reform: preparing the environment for conducting general elections, updating laws, and rebuilding the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

4.     A unified national program: identifying priorities for reconstruction, protecting the population, confronting Israeli aggression, and formulating a clear national vision.

The Consensus Government: The Lever for the Transitional Phase

The independent consensus government is considered the true guarantor of the unity of the national entity and its collective frameworks. It:

• Prevents any faction from monopolizing power or turning it into a tool of influence.

• Provides a common platform for various political forces and factions to work within a balanced national vision, including creating a wide space for political participation and entrenching political pluralism.

• Prepares the environment for conducting free and unified elections.

• Represents an umbrella for reforming civil and security apparatuses and enhancing national legitimacy.

• Secures a political platform that reflects comprehensive representation of the Palestinian people, through which to confront Israeli and international pressures.

In this formula, the government transforms from a temporary administration into a true founding institution, ensuring the success of the transitional phase and the restoration of national unity.

Gaza, the Heart of the National Project and its Historical Carrier

Gaza is not just a disaster-stricken sector, but a future laboratory for the Palestinian national project.

Either the independent consensus government and the transitional phase succeed in unifying the sector with the West Bank, integrating all Palestinian forces, and reproducing national legitimacy, or the sector remains hostage to division and a place for implementing Israeli plans.

The transitional phase is the true test of the will of the Palestinians: transforming Gaza from a center of catastrophe to a gateway of unity, and from a political vacuum to a comprehensive national system capable of confronting challenges and restoring the rights of the Palestinian people.

The consensus government is the lever for this transformation, and a guarantee that the transitional phase becomes a platform for rebuilding institutions and the national project on solid and sustainable foundations. The question remains, among the great questions: "Why continue to ignore the option of the Authority assuming its direct responsibility for the Gaza Strip through the door of consensus and national agreement?!"