Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) disagrees with the Biden administration's belief that the Palestinian Authority should govern Gaza once the war is over.
The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, has been in power in the West Bank for nearly three decades. However, it hasn't been in control of Gaza since Hamas violently took over from them in 2007. Abbas and his government do not have widespread support in the West Bank amid allegations of corruption.
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The Biden administration has argued for weeks now that a "revitalized" Palestinian Authority should be the next governing body of Gaza if Israel is successful in ousting Hamas from power in the enclave, while Graham believes neither the PA nor Hamas should be in control.
"If Abbas is still standing when this is over, we have failed as a world community. I would not invest 15 cents in a future Palestine where Hamas is still standing," Graham said on Sunday on ABC's This Week. "I wouldn’t invest 15 cents into the Palestinian Authority regarding a new Palestine. Abbas’s Palestinian Authority is dead to me. So, when we get to the day after when Israel has ceased military operations because Hamas has been destroyed, the new Palestine cannot have Hamas, and it cannot be governed by the PA."
"The PA is corrupt in the eyes of its own people. They’ve had pay-to-slay programs," he added. "So, I'm looking for a fresh start [for] the day after. But the destruction of Hamas is non-negotiable. You would be insane to invest in the Palestinian people if Hamas is still standing. I will not do that. I will not send one dime of American aid if Hamas is still standing. And if you put the PA in charge of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, no money coming from me."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly agreed with Graham's sentiment, which has been one of a handful of disagreements between Netanyahu and Biden regarding Israel's war. Israeli leaders have said one of their war aims is to remove Hamas from power, which is a goal the administration supports.
“As long as I am Prime Minister — this will not happen," Netanyahu pledged earlier this month in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the PA assuming control of Gaza after the war. "Whoever educates their children for terror, funds terror and supports families of terrorists, could not control Gaza after we eradicate Hamas."
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Netanyahu’s national security adviser indicated days ago, however, that Netanyahu's stance could be slightly shifting.
“Israel is aware of the desire of the international community and the countries of the region to integrate the Palestinian Authority the day after Hamas, and we make it clear that the matter will require a fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority,” Tzachi Hanegbi, who leads Israel’s National Security Council, wrote in an opinion piece published days ago on the Arabic-language news site Elaph.