According to Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, British military soldiers are assisting the Palestinian Authority in preparing to seize control of the Gaza Strip.
The British Support Team, which includes US and Canadian officers, has been in Ramallah for over a decade, he claimed, working with Palestinian security forces.
On Thursday, Shapps met with the team and PA Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ziad Hab Al-Reeh in Ramallah and suggested the UK’s presence in Gaza may be increased to assist the PA with any power transfer.
“Ultimately, I think the solution (to governance of Gaza) is likely to be a Palestinian Authority, who need to be capable of a level of governance which will require a huge amount of international help and support, and we are not there yet,” Shapps said.
“When something really terrible happens, what we absolutely need to do is get something that is better than what was there before.
“We have to use this appalling crisis to improve the security of Israelis and the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians. And I think you do that by bringing together an international coalition which is led by Arab states in terms of the on-the-ground reconstruction of Gaza and also administratively.
“One of the reasons we are going to Ramallah to talk to the Palestinian Authority is to understand their capacity and ability. One of the things we will be doing is talking to the British team, who are helping to build that capacity along with the Americans.”
Shapps met with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well. They lighted candles to commemorate the first day of Hanukkah, and Shapps also visited a kibbutz near Israel’s Gaza border.
His remarks contrast sharply with those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stated that Israel need security authority over Gaza when its military assault on the territory concludes.
In November, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that seizing control of Gaza would be contingent on a political settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
