The US and Arab mediators between Israel and Hamas are trying to promote Mohammed Dahlan as the potential leader of the Gaza Strip after the war, "The Wall Street Journal" reports.
Dahlan has lived in Abu Dhabi for many years. But "The Wall Street Journal" reports, "Since the war began, he has ferried between the UAE - a wealthy Gulf state that could help fund Gaza’s reconstruction and provide troops for an international stabilization force - and Egypt, whose border with Gaza and Israel makes it integral to the territory’s future. Dahlan has advised both countries’ leaders and benefited from their patronage.
Both Arab and Hamas sources says that in recent talks between Hamas and Fatah, Dahlan has presented himself as someone who may lead the assistance to establish a new administration in Gaza. According to the report, Hamas recently expressed its approval of Dahlan's leadership in the Gaza Strip, as a solution that would bring an end to the war.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told "The Wall Street Journal" that Hamas is giving priority to an overall vision for postwar Gaza that is "based on national interest and national consensus" over opposition or support for specific individuals. "It is unacceptable for any party to be imposed from above," he added.
An option currently being considered is that Dahlan would lead a 2,500-strong Palestinian security force, which would work in coordination with an international force, after Israel withdraws. The identity of those serving in the same force would be scrutinized by Israel with the US and Egypt, and they would not have clear loyalty to the Palestinian Authority. Sources who spoke with the newspaper said that it is possible that private security companies would also play a role in the security field in the Gaza Strip.
Dahlan was born in Khan Younis in 1961. His family has roots in a village near Nitzanim. He grew up as a neighbor of the Rantisi family and Abed Al-Aziz Rantisi, one of the founders of Hamas who was killed by Israel in 2004. Even so he is more closely identified with Fatah and served as the commander of intelligence in the Gaza Strip from 1994 to 2002, leading the growing struggle against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Under his stewardship, many of them were arrested, often without clear charges, and some died while under arrest
A series of upheavals in Dahlan's life began in 2007, when he was forced to leave Gaza for Ramallah, due to the Hamas coup in the Gaza Strip. The US president at the time, George Bush, Jr., defined him as "our man". Some also believed that Dahlan was a key figure behind the Trump administration's peace plan in 2019, which was called the "deal of the century." His closeness to the Americans did not prevent him from escaping from Ramallah to the UAE in 2011, after he was accused by the Palestinian Authority of financial corruption and conspiracy against Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Good relations with Israeli officials and even with the Shin Bet, probably also contributed the process that led to the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
He is currently a businessman, with his fortune estimated at more than $120 million. In 1997 it was claimed that he was diverting about 40% of the income from the Karni crossing near Gaza (about NIS 1 million shekels per month) to his personal bank account. It was reported that he purchased a luxury house in Dubai for $600,000, and an apartment in a city tower for $1 million.
Dahlan responded to the report on his Facebook page, by once again expressing his refusal to accept any security, government or administrative position in the Gaza Strip. "Over and over again different scenarios about post-war arrangements have been presented or leaked to the media," Dahlan wrote. "I am only here for what we can do to help our people in Gaza... Stopping the war is our top priority, and we will not support any other option."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 25, 2024.
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