Saudi, Egypt, Jordan and PA intelligence officials secretly met to discuss Gaza’s future

Intelligence officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) secretly met this month to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip’s governance following the end of Israel’s ongoing bombardment and invasion of the besieged territory, a report has revealed.

According to The Jerusalem Post, which cited several anonymous sources, Saudi Arabian National Security Adviser, Musad Al-Aiban, organised a meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, around a week ago which was attended by Palestinian General Intelligence chief, Majed Faraj, Egyptian intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, and Jordanian intelligence chief, Ahmed Hosni.

The officials reportedly discussed the future of Gaza after Israel’s war on it and Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas, ends, particularly regarding ways in which a “renewed Palestinian Authority” can take part in the management of the Strip.

Two sources familiar with the contents of the meeting were cited as revealing that the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians urged the Palestinian intelligence chief, Faraj, that the PA must carry out reforms in order to pave the way for a renewal in its leadership ranks. That renewal would apparently include the transfer of certain powers from PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, to a newly-appointed prime minister.

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During the meeting, the Saudis also reportedly emphasised their interest in continuing normalisation talks with Israel, while reiterating that such a deal would be conditional upon practical and irreversible steps by Tel Aviv and the international community to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.

Although none of the countries’ embassies and authorities have yet confirmed the veracity of the report on the secret meeting, one source reported that Israel was informed about the meeting and its contents by some of the participants.

Any potential involvement by Tel Aviv or other foreign nations in the gathering have not been revealed, but the use of a renewed PA as an entity to govern post-war Gaza has been one idea – amongst the few moderate ones – espoused by the Israeli and Western sides over the past few months, despite Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that will not be the case.

If the PA were to assume the governance of the besieged Territory, however, Israel’s occupation forces would likely tightly control the Strip’s security, as is the case in the West Bank.

READ: Israel planning to establish permanent military outposts in Gaza, officer reveals