Gaza Bleeds: Occupation Deepens Administrative and Humanitarian Crises Without Solutions

Dr. Fadi Jumaa: The escalation of famine and the spread of diseases and epidemics in the Strip in a managed way have made society fragile, and the humanitarian crisis itself has become a tool of political pressure.

Talal Awkal: Confronting this reality requires ending the Palestinian division, considering it a fundamental condition for activating real pressure on Washington to compel Israel to implement the Trump plan.

Nu'man Tawfiq Al-Abed: The technocrat committee has become one of the problems instead of being an entry point for a solution because its tasks and the nature of its political and administrative authority are unclear.

Dr. Jamal Harfoush: Addressing the crisis requires a comprehensive approach that combines political, legal, and humanitarian aspects; otherwise, it will remain merely a temporary management of the crisis, not a real solution.

Samer Anabtawi: Israel uses the resistance's weapons file as a pretext to obstruct the implementation of other commitments and impose a security reality, and a return to all-out war is closer.

Adnan Al-Sabah: The continuation of the technocrat committee in its current form grants Israel, the United States, and mediators "legal and formal cover" suggesting that implementation steps have begun.

Ramallah - Exclusive to "Al-Quds" -

The situation in the Gaza Strip is deepening towards a more complex stage, with the accelerating humanitarian collapse intertwined with the faltering political and administrative paths proposed for managing the Strip, at a time when the scope of famine and diseases is expanding, amid the continued siege and the absence of any clear horizon for containing the escalating crisis.

In separate interviews with "Al-Quds", writers, political analysts, specialists, and university professors confirm that the proposals that accompanied the formation of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip "Technocrat Committee" suffer from the absence of a unified political authority and continued military threats, which has made any partial solutions seem incapable of addressing the roots of the crisis.

Writers, specialists, and university professors warn that the continuation of this reality may push Gaza into further fragility, with the population remaining between escalating humanitarian pressure and a state of open instability, while opportunities for reaching a comprehensive solution that reconnects the humanitarian dimension with the required political solution are diminishing.

A Deeper Structural Political Crisis

Dr. Fadi Jumaa, Professor of Political Science at the Arab American University, confirms that what Gaza is witnessing in the current stage cannot be reduced to an administrative crisis that can be addressed through the formation of a technocrat committee or a temporary administrative body. Rather, it reflects a deeper structural political crisis linked to the nature of the Palestinian political system and the complexities of the field and humanitarian reality that the Strip has been experiencing for many months.

Jumaa explains that the proposal to form a technocrat committee to manage the Strip appears, on the surface, to be an attempt to present a rational formula to neutralize the internal political division by removing factional forces from daily affairs. However, this proposal clashes with a completely different reality: Gaza is not experiencing normal administrative conditions, but rather a state of open conflict where issues of authority intertwine with sovereignty, administration with survival, and politics with security, which makes any administrative formula separate from the general political context prone to failure.

Absence of a Comprehensive Political Framework

Jumaa points out that the core of the crisis lies not only in administrative disputes but also in the absence of a comprehensive political framework that gives any executive or administrative formula real meaning and sustainability. He explains that any committee, no matter how professionally competent, will not be able to achieve tangible results in the absence of a unified political authority, a clear national decision, and a relatively stable environment that allows for the implementation of its tasks.

Regarding the humanitarian situation, Jumaa believes that the escalation of famine and the spread of diseases and epidemics in the Strip reflects the transition of the crisis from its political dimension to a catastrophic, managed humanitarian level. He clarifies that what is happening is not merely a side effect of the war, but rather the result of continuous policies of siege and attrition that have left society in a state of continuous fragility, such that the humanitarian crisis itself has become part of the tools of political pressure.

Between Temporary Calm and Potential Explosion

Jumaa believes that repeated Israeli threats to return to war deepen the state of instability and keep Gaza in a state of "permanent suspension" between a temporary calm and a potential explosion at any moment. This empties any administrative or relief effort of its content, as stability is a fundamental condition for any management or reconstruction process.

Jumaa indicates that the next stage is likely to see more instability, with the continuation of the "no peace, no war" pattern, where calm remains fragile and susceptible to collapse under the pressure of Israeli calculations or as a result of an internal humanitarian explosion. He notes that this reality does not produce solutions as much as it postpones an explosion.

Jumaa stresses that what is required is not limited to partial or temporary solutions, but rather begins with reintegrating the political dimension into crisis management, in addition to rebuilding a unified Palestinian authority through activating the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization, with the necessity of separating humanitarian needs from political tug-of-war, and mobilizing a more serious regional and international effort to impose a minimum level of stability. He affirms that any treatment limited to the administrative dimension alone will only lead to postponing a crisis that is likely to escalate more violently.

Israeli War Has Not Actually Stopped

Writer and political analyst Talal Awkal confirms that the US President Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip, since its implementation last October, has not been reflected in the reality on the ground in the Strip. He points out that the Israeli war has not actually stopped, but rather continued with the same previous tools, but at a less intense pace and with remarkable international silence.

Awkal explains that the Gaza Strip is still facing policies of starvation, siege, assassinations, and bombing, in addition to the destruction of basic necessities of life and the rationing of humanitarian aid, at a time when markets are witnessing an unprecedented rise in prices, with the absence of many basic materials. He considers that the only difference in the current stage is that these measures are being practiced away from any real pressure from the international community, mediators, or even the silence of the "Peace Council."

Clear Collusion with Israel

Awkal points out that there is clear collusion regarding Israel's failure to adhere to what it was supposed to implement during the first phase of the agreement. He explains that the Israeli government is seeking to move beyond this phase to the second phase, linking this to Hamas surrendering its weapons, which reflects an Israeli desire to impose new political conditions that disrupt the existing path.

Awkal notes that Israel is also working to prevent the start of the reconstruction process and obstruct any effective role for the technocrat committee, pointing out that it has not yet allowed committee members to return to the Gaza Strip, while the US administration aligns itself with this Israeli behavior instead of pressuring for the implementation of the plan's provisions.

Awkal believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to keep Gaza an open front that can be militarily revisited whenever other fronts calm down, considering that the war on Iran has provided political and media cover for what is happening inside the Strip.

Correcting the Internal Palestinian Path

Awkal stresses that confronting this reality requires correcting the internal Palestinian path and ending the state of division, considering this a fundamental condition for activating real Arab, Islamic, and international pressure on Washington, forcing it to compel Israel to implement the Trump plan. He affirms that its chances of success will remain limited in light of American complicity and the weak role of mediators.

The Agreement, from its inception, carries political and legal landmines

Writer, political researcher, and international relations specialist Nu'man Tawfiq Al-Abed believes that the warnings issued since the announcement of the understandings related to the Sharm El Sheikh summit and US President Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip have begun to materialize on the ground. He points out that the agreement, from its inception, carried "political and legal landmines" due to its reliance on general headings without clear details regulating implementation mechanisms or defining the required references and obligations from the different parties.

Al-Abed explains that the issues addressed by the American plan relate to "strategic and sensitive" files, including the administration of the Gaza Strip and the future of governance within it. These files have not received internal Palestinian consensus, nor Palestinian-Israeli understanding, nor even a clearly defined American vision, which has made them susceptible to explosion at any moment. Al-Abed emphasizes that each party views these files as linked to its political and security calculations, which has made any concession in them viewed as a strategic loss.

The Technocrat Committee's Transformation into Part of the Problem

Regarding the Palestinian technocrat committee, Al-Abed believes that it has become one of the problems instead of being an entry point for a solution. He explains that its birth was difficult internally and externally, and that discussions about it took place without clear definition of its tasks, work schedule, entry dates into the Strip, funding sources, or the nature of its political and administrative authority, in addition to the lack of clarity regarding its relationship with Palestinian factions and the Palestinian Authority.

Al-Abed considers that the absence of these determinants made the committee an incomplete framework, especially in light of the continued Israeli presence within the Strip.

Al-Abed points out that the Palestinian people remain the biggest sufferers from the faltering implementation of the agreement, as they continue to face ongoing bombing and siege, deteriorating humanitarian and living conditions, with the absence of basic necessities of life in the Gaza Strip, continued casualties, and the spread of diseases due to lack of medicine and the disruption of municipal and health services.

Al-Abed notes that the reduction of available areas for residents within the Strip, with their confinement to narrow areas, portends serious social repercussions that may appear more widely in the future.

Chances for a Solution Remain Limited

At the political level, Al-Abed believes that the chances for a solution remain limited in the absence of real pressure on Israel to implement its commitments, pointing to an American alignment with the Israeli position, in contrast to European moves that he described as still below the level of actual influence.

Al-Abed considers that the Palestinian leaderships, both official and factional, have not yet risen to the level of seriousness of what is happening on Palestinian land, and the division remains stagnant, indeed, it has deepened.

Al-Abed stresses that the fundamental entry point for any solution begins with reorganizing the internal Palestinian house and formulating a leadership that rises to the size of the existing challenges, then re-presenting the Gaza file and the Palestinian issue within a new vision not built on the titles imposed by Israel. He warns that the continued implementation of the agreement in its current form may ultimately lead to the entrenchment of a political reality that threatens to liquidate the Palestinian cause instead of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state.

Technocrat Committee Collides with the Core of the Crisis

Dr. Jamal Harfoush, Professor of Scientific Research Methods and Political Studies at the Academic Research Center University in Brazil, warns that the Gaza Strip is experiencing one of its most complex stages in years, amidst the intertwining of the political crisis with legal collapse and humanitarian deterioration. He considers the current scene to reflect a "comprehensive structural crisis" that transcends the limits of urgent relief to a deep flaw in the structure of governance and administration within the Strip.

Harfoush explains that the proposal to form a technocrat committee to manage the Gaza Strip was primarily an administrative solution to overcome the internal Palestinian division. However, this proposal quickly collided with the core of the crisis, which is the absence of Palestinian consensus on a unified political authority, in addition to the lack of international will capable of ensuring the success of any new formula, as well as the continued Israeli restrictions imposed on crossings and the field. These factors made the committee "born in an environment lacking the minimum opportunities for success."

Administration Without Sovereignty

Harfoush points out that the current reality in Gaza can be politically and legally described as a state of "administration without sovereignty," where no entity is capable of fully exercising its public powers, whether in managing resources, maintaining security, or ensuring the continuity of basic services. He explains that this institutional vacuum is not confined to the administrative aspect only, but gradually transforms into a fertile environment for chaos and social and economic deterioration.

The Situation in the Strip Has Reached a Very Critical Stage

On the humanitarian level, Harfoush confirms that the situation in the Strip has reached a very critical stage, pointing out that famine is no longer just UN warnings, but has become a direct threat to wide segments of the population, especially children, at a time when diseases are escalating due to the destruction of health infrastructure, declining water services, and poor sanitation networks, with continued Israeli threats to return to military operations, which makes any humanitarian improvement fragile and susceptible to collapse at any moment.

Three Possible Scenarios

Harfoush believes that the next stage may head towards three main scenarios: first, the continuation of fragile calm with further humanitarian deterioration and institutional incapacity, which is the most likely scenario; second, a return to military escalation with its multiplied catastrophe; and the third and least likely scenario is the achievement of political progress that allows for the establishment of a ceasefire, the opening of crossings, and the empowerment of a civilian entity to manage daily affairs.

The Need for a Comprehensive Approach

Harfoush stresses that addressing the crisis cannot be achieved through partial or technical solutions alone, but requires a comprehensive approach that begins with a sustainable ceasefire, effective opening of crossings, and clear Palestinian consensus on the administration of the Strip, in addition to rebuilding the administrative and security system, and launching a reconstruction process linked to the needs of the population. He affirms that any approach that does not combine political, legal, and humanitarian dimensions will remain merely a temporary management of the crisis, not a real solution.

Technocrats... An Entity Without Real Powers

Writer and political analyst Samer Anabtawi confirms that the technocrat committee, proposed as part of the American vision for the post-ceasefire phase in the Gaza Strip, was supposed to form a transitional framework for managing civil and humanitarian affairs in the Strip. However, Israel's failure to adhere to the agreement's provisions transformed it into an entity without real powers, leaving the Strip under the weight of siege, humanitarian collapse, and the constant threat of a return to all-out war.

Anabtawi explains that the formation of the committee came in the context of the understandings that accompanied what is called the "Peace Council," with the participation and oversight of eight Arab and Islamic mediating countries, with the aim of stopping the Israeli war, stopping the bloodshed, and creating conditions for restoring a minimum level of life in Gaza, after the widespread destruction that affected hospitals, schools, and residential buildings, and the subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands to tents, and the collapse of water, health, education, and basic services sectors.

Anabtawi points out that the committee was formed as an independent committee of professionals to manage a transitional phase, which was supposed to reorganize daily life and address the accumulated crises in food, water, healthcare, and education. However, Israel did not implement the commitments of the first phase of the agreement, nor did it allow the transition to the second phase during which the committee was supposed to assume its tasks inside the Strip. Instead, it prevented its members from returning to Gaza, which deprived it of any real ability to operate.

Anabtawi confirms that the committee remained in existence only formally, without any actual role on the ground, while Israel continued to impose its control over more than half of the Strip's area, with continued killing, targeting, and bulldozing operations, in addition to establishing a security reality that makes Gaza an uninhabitable area, pushing its residents towards further displacement and suffering.

Mediators and Leaving Gaza to Face its Fate

Anabtawi believes that the international guarantors and mediators who sponsored the agreement left Gaza to face its fate alone, at a time when Israel benefited from the world's preoccupation with the war in the region to neutralize what is happening inside the Strip from the circle of media and political attention. This allowed for the continued entry of limited quantities of aid, the obstruction of patient movement, and the strict restrictions on the Strip's crossings.

The Weapons File as a Pretext to Obstruct the Implementation of Other Commitments

Anabtawi confirms that Israel uses the resistance's weapons file as a pretext to obstruct the implementation of other commitments and impose a permanent security reality within the Strip, warning that the possibility of a return to all-out war is closer to reality in light of the existing international silence.

Anabtawi stresses that confronting this path requires a unified Palestinian stance, in addition to more effective Arab and Islamic action, especially from the sponsoring countries of the agreement, in order to compel Israel to implement the transitional phases, assume its legal and political responsibilities, and work urgently to stop the accelerating humanitarian deterioration in the Gaza Strip and support the steadfastness of its people.

Political Deception

Writer and political analyst Adnan Al-Sabah considers that the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump regarding the Gaza Strip was, from its inception, nothing but a "political deception" formulated to achieve specific goals related to extracting the prisoners' file and stopping direct confrontation, without including a real commitment to implement any of the provisions that pledged to improve the humanitarian and political reality for Palestinians in the Strip.

According to Al-Sabah, what actually happened was the transition of the war from its direct form to another pattern of aggression, based on remote bombing by planes and artillery, with the continuation of the siege and starvation policy and keeping the population under constant pressure. He explains that the Palestinians agreed to a ceasefire and the handover of prisoners based on promises that included a ceasefire, opening of crossings, flow of aid, and a political path related to the Palestinian national cause, but none of that was achieved; rather, the reality moved towards further deterioration.

Al-Sabah explains that the plan later transformed into a series of successive stages, during which the transition to what was called the "second phase" took place, the main title of which became the surrender of weapons, while the basic issues related to relief, water, food, shelter, and medicine receded to the margins, even though the occupation continued its military operations, kept the crossings closed, and continued to impose a siege on the Strip.

Technocrat Committee and Withdrawal of Legitimacy

Al-Sabah believes that the formation of the Palestinian technocrat committee came suddenly and without real Palestinian participation or a clear announcement from the Palestinians themselves. He considers that the continuation of this committee in its current form grants Israel, the United States, and mediators "legal and formal cover," suggesting that implementation steps have begun, while the Palestinians are being blamed for its obstruction.

Al-Sabah points out that the solution lies in the committee's resignation and the withdrawal of the legitimacy granted to it, and its replacement with another committee agreed upon from within the Gaza Strip, in order to re-assign international parties and mediators their responsibilities towards implementing what was pledged, instead of keeping the Palestinians in the position of being accused of obstruction.

Al-Sabah warns that the continuation of the committee in this form may practically entrench the separation of Gaza from the West Bank, and turn the Strip's file into an issue separate from the Palestinian national framework.

Al-Sabah believes that the world's preoccupation with other regional and international crises, from Iran and Lebanon to Ukraine and energy markets, has led to a decline in the Palestinian issue on the international agenda, which, according to him, allowed Israel to continue its operations away from the international pressure that existed in previous stages.

Necessity of Forming a Unified National Body

Al-Sabah stresses that ending this reality requires ending the internal Palestinian division and forming a unified national body capable of addressing the world with one political voice, warning that the continuation of the current state of fragmentation will keep the Palestinians in continuous confrontation with the repercussions of the crisis, instead of reaching solutions that end its origin.