Jake Sullivan urges revamping of Palestinian Authority in Gaza

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in the West Bank on Friday to meet with Palestinian leaders while continuing to pressure the Israeli government to curb civilian casualties in the war with Hamas.

During his second day in the Middle East, Sullivan sat down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, where he said he would use the talks to reiterate the U.S. position that the authority needs to adapt to the changing dynamics of the conflict and the greater region if it expects to ever return to power in Gaza.

"We do believe that the Palestinian Authority needs to be revamped and revitalized, needs to be updated in terms of its method of governance, its representation of the Palestinian people," Sullivan said. "And that will require a lot of work by everybody who is engaged in the Palestinian Authority, starting with the [Palestinian] president."

Sullivan discussed with the authority U.S. efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and actions against terrorism and extremist settler violence in the West Bank.

He said prospects for the authority's return was ultimately in the hands of the Palestinian people.

The visit marked Sullivan's third trip to Ramallah since 2022, with discussion set to focus on bringing stability to the West Bank amid Israeli raids and Hamas violence as hostilities continued to ravage the region and its citizens.

Sullivan's meeting came as U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be at odds on whether the Palestinian Authority should control Gaza after the war.

The United States has expressed support for the Abbas-led body to take over in Gaza, while Netanyahu has consistently opposed the idea.

Sullivan's meeting with Abbas comes a day after he sat down with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, who were facing increased condemnation in the international community due to the high number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza since the conflict began on Oct. 7.

Last week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris sent her national security adviser Phil Gordon to meet with Abbas and other members of the Palestinian Authority, which maintains control over broad swaths of the West Bank amid Hamas' 16-year grip on broad portions of Gaza.

During the talks, Sullivan was expected to express support for the Palestinian National Security Forces, which receive training from the United States.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued to defy international pressure to narrow the scope of its large-scale military operation to destroy Hamas in Gaza as many refugees were being killed in the crossfire.

Biden officials previously voiced support for Israel's effort to eliminate Hamas as the militant group continued to fire rockets into Israel amid the war, while its members have also carried out terrorist attacks in the West Bank.

Sullivan reiterated this point heading into the meeting with Abbas, but noted that it was a "basic matter of dignity" that Israel curb its strikes in an effort to save lives in Gaza.

Biden was also urging Israel to take more tangible measures to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza, while calling on Netanyahu to reconsider his strategy and adopt a more flexible approach.

On Wednesday, Biden pressed the Israeli government to scale down its attacks in Gaza, adding that he wanted the strikes "to be focused on how to save civilian lives. Not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful," Biden told reporters.

At the same time, the United States was facing increased criticism for not insisting on Israel enforcing a long-term cease-fire amid nearly 18,000 civilian deaths and a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Back in Washington, a senior administration official said Thursday that Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar's "days are numbered" as Israel was determined to defeat the terrorist network in the territory.

The official added, "I also think it's safe to say it doesn't matter how long it takes" to capture or kill Sinwar, who orchestrated the murders of 1,200 people, including 38 Americans, in the surprise attack by Hamas 10 weeks ago," The Hill reported.

The militant group was also still holding more than 100 hostages in Gaza, including several U.S. citizens.

Diplomacy continues to seek an end to the war, but Sullivan would be focused on the bigger challenge of developing a post-Hamas plan for Gaza, while questions emerged as to whether the Palestinian Authority was ready to play a major governing role after it was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in a violent coup in 2007.

The authority recently said it would not come back into Gaza based solely on a successful military operation by the Israelis. And countries like Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are also not on board with suggestions for temporary Arab leaders or security arrangements in Gaza.

The administration official who spoke to The Hill acknowledged, "There's a lot of work to do here. And I think that there's a pretty rich conversation going on with a number of regional partners and also with the Palestinian Authority. And we hear from them, of course, their deep concerns about the current situation in Gaza."