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Analysis: Can Gaza be part of a peace deal?

September 28, 2010 12:48

By

Nathan Jeffay,

Nathan Jeffay

2 min read

Say the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian talks suddenly came good. All issues are resolved, borders are set, and leaders from both sides sign on the dotted line. What then?

More specifically with whom, exactly, will Israel have reached an agreement? Binyamin Netanyahu's negotiating partner is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He is negotiating for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, where 2.5 million Palestinians live, and Gaza, where there are 1.5 million - but there's a problem.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas is more familiar with the inside of Binyamin Netanyahu's home than with the Gaza Strip. While he was recently hosted at Binyamin and Sarah's place, he has not set foot inside Gaza since Hamas took control there in 2006.

In Gaza, he is persona non grata and Hamas leaders - whose rule over the Strip he deems illegitimate - decry his presidency as illegitimate. But if Mr Abbas doesn't control Gaza, does he still have a mandate to negotiate for it?

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