In terms of geography, it is from Belarus that an attack on Kyiv and central Ukraine is more dangerous also because the Chernobyl, Rivne, and Kremenchuk nuclear power plants are located there.
Also, the border between Belarus and Ukraine is largely comprised of forests and steppes, the roads through which are now being actively mined by the Ukrainian army in case of an infantry attack.
The \"Belorusskiy gaiun\" Telegram channel, which regularly monitors troop movements on Belarus’ territory, notes that the risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
\"The restriction zone for flights of all types of civil aircraft in southern Belarus has been extended until Oct. 7, 2022. The ban on flights over southern Belarus was imposed on Feb. 24, 2022, with the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is from the south of Belarus that missiles are launched over the territory of Ukraine,” reports the Telegram channel.
“Since the beginning of the war, at least 689 warheads have been launched from the territory of Belarus in Ukrainian cities. Thus, the threat of missile attacks on the territory of Ukraine from the airspace of Belarus remains for at least another three months.\"
"},"name":"How would Belarus enter the war?"},{"@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
The Belarusian army is not particularly well-staffed and has not taken part in any military action since its independence at the end of the Cold War. Even if it fails to capture Kyiv or other major cities, its presence in the conflict would force some of the Ukrainian troops needed in the south and east of the country to redeploy. Belarus’ firepower could also deliver heavy blows to civilians and critical infrastructure.
The risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
The Minsk-based newspaper Vot Tak writes that the strength of the Belarusian army is about 65,000 people, of whom only 45,000 are servicemen, and the remaining 20,000 are civilian personnel. We can add 12,000 soldiers of the Internal Troops to this number.
It's important to note that the internal troops are loyal to Lukashenko, and were involved in dispersing rallies in 2020 after the longstanding president rigged the results of the national election. These are the same troops that brutally dispersed peaceful, unarmed protesters. Hundreds of people were thrown into police vans, beaten, and raped.
Lukashenko's senior officers are also loyal, built on a Soviet mentality and are largely committed to the idea of unification of the former Soviet republics.
Vot Tak writes that during the 28 years of his rule, Lukashenko built up an array of armed forces and intelligence operations of the country as a separate caste. During the 2020 suppression of civil protests, not only the ex KGB special forces, riot police, and Interior Ministry troops, but also separate airborne assault brigades showed their loyalty to the regime and cruelty to their own people in full measure.
At the same time, the Belarusian army does not have many armored vehicles: several hundred T-72 tanks of various modifications, of which only 20 are well equipped and modern. There are 30 MiG-29 fighters and 22 Su-25 attack aircraft, four Su-30SMs, and another 20 Su-27 fighters in storage and unlikely to be combat-ready at the moment.
"},"name":"How strong is the Belarus army?"},{"@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
There is a widespread belief among Ukrainians that the Belarusian army will not go against Ukraine. And if such an order is given, it will turn against Lukashenko himself. Knowing and fearing this, Lukashenko delays entering the war.
However, this opinion is based on a genuinely friendly relationship between the two nations, including the experience of the support that the Belarusians showed for the Ukrainians during the revolutions of 2004 and 2014, and on the general unwillingness to live under the leadership of the Kremlin. It’s notable that many Belarusians chose to flee to Ukraine seeking protection from Lukashenko's regime, as well as actively helping Ukrainian refugees during this war.
However, the people and the army in Belarus are not united, as demonstrated by the rallies in 2020. There is little the Belarusians themselves can do if the army is ordered to attack.
Still there is another factor traced back to history. Belarus was known for one very important element from World War II, which played a significant role in the German army's failure in the war against the USSR: widespread and well-trained underground resistance. Let's just say that the Belarusians may not be the most militant nation, but they are talented saboteurs. Since the beginning of the war, sabotage groups of Belarusians have mined the railroad tracks, preventing trains carrying ammunition from crossing to support the advancing Russian army.
The people and the army in Belarus are not united.
From sources that we cannot name, we know that individual Belarusian military, working incognito, are training Ukrainian soldiers at bases in Poland.
Since early 2022, the Belarusian regiment named after Kastus Kalinovsky, the 19th-century Belarusian writer and revolutionary, has been fighting on the side of Ukraine. It took an active part in the defense of Kyiv during the first days of the war.
Whether pockets of resistance turn into a mass movement is one more question we may find out in the coming weeks and months. Russians failed to muster the protest that would have stopped Putin's regime.
Perhaps the fear of repression and the experience of clashing with the Special Forces will also prevent the Belarusians from significantly rebelling against the regime if Lukashenko decides to go to full-scale war. In this case, Ukraine will have to wage a defensive war on two fronts.
"},"name":"Will Belarusians resist an invasion?"},{"@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
The escalation of the war has been on possibility since the invasion began. That could happen in multiple ways, in terms of who is involved, where the fighting takes place and even the types of weapons used.
Scenarios of Russia invading another regional neighbor, such as Poland or Moldova, come with the risk that it could quickly spark a wider war with the West.
That is less likely if Belarus invades Ukraine. For Washington and London and Brussels, it's bad, but essentially more of the same. Indeed, Lukashenko’s ties (and resemblance) to Putin may be his greatest insurance policy. Or his greatest risk.
"},"name":"What about the rest of the world?"}]}The Next Big Move? What Would Happen If Belarus Enters War Against Ukraine - Worldcrunch
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The Next Big Move? What Would Happen If Belarus Enters War Against Ukraine
As the war in Donbas is bogged down, the most likely major new gambit in Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine would be to get military support from his ally in Minsk, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. How would that actually go down?
Russian-Belarus joint military drills "Allied Resolve 2022" conducted air and ground operations in Belarus
What will Lukashenko do? It’s a high-stakes corollary to the even higher stakes "what-will-Putin-do" question that has been weighing on the world since the beginning of the year.
Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.
Few doubt that the role of Belarus and its leader Alexander Lukashenko — the 68-year-old strongman who's ruled Belarus since 1994 — is absolutely crucial to the outcome of the war in Ukraine. Will he invade? Will he bide his time? Will he do whatever Putin tells him to do?
Lukashenko's announcement Monday that he would deploy his troops alongside Russian forces near Ukraine shows that it is indeed increasingly likely that Belarus will enter the war.
Having cited the Saturday bombing of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, and the risk of a similar such attack on his country, Lukashenko is now set to welcome Russian forces alongside his near the border with Ukraine.
How would Belarus enter the war?
What would happen if Lukashenko moves past all the military training and posturing of the past four months — and attacks Ukraine? We can begin to construct a plausible answer by looking at the key factors:The capital of Belarus, Minsk, is only 500 kilometers from Kyiv, while the border itself is less than 160 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital. On the Belarusian border, there are not only Belarusian troops but also temporary Russian air bases. Also, the Belarusian border passes very close to other major cities of Ukraine: Chernihiv, Lutsk, and Rivne.
In terms of geography, it is from Belarus that an attack on Kyiv and central Ukraine is more dangerous also because the Chernobyl, Rivne, and Kremenchuk nuclear power plants are located there.
Also, the border between Belarus and Ukraine is largely comprised of forests and steppes, the roads through which are now being actively mined by the Ukrainian army in case of an infantry attack.
The "Belorusskiy gaiun" Telegram channel, which regularly monitors troop movements on Belarus’ territory, notes that the risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
"The restriction zone for flights of all types of civil aircraft in southern Belarus has been extended until Oct. 7, 2022. The ban on flights over southern Belarus was imposed on Feb. 24, 2022, with the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is from the south of Belarus that missiles are launched over the territory of Ukraine,” reports the Telegram channel.
“Since the beginning of the war, at least 689 warheads have been launched from the territory of Belarus in Ukrainian cities. Thus, the threat of missile attacks on the territory of Ukraine from the airspace of Belarus remains for at least another three months."
How strong is the Belarus army?
The Belarusian army is not particularly well-staffed and has not taken part in any military action since its independence at the end of the Cold War. Even if it fails to capture Kyiv or other major cities, its presence in the conflict would force some of the Ukrainian troops needed in the south and east of the country to redeploy. Belarus’ firepower could also deliver heavy blows to civilians and critical infrastructure.
The risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
The Minsk-based newspaper Vot Tak writes that the strength of the Belarusian army is about 65,000 people, of whom only 45,000 are servicemen, and the remaining 20,000 are civilian personnel. We can add 12,000 soldiers of the Internal Troops to this number.
It's important to note that the internal troops are loyal to Lukashenko, and were involved in dispersing rallies in 2020 after the longstanding president rigged the results of the national election. These are the same troops that brutally dispersed peaceful, unarmed protesters. Hundreds of people were thrown into police vans, beaten, and raped.
Lukashenko's senior officers are also loyal, built on a Soviet mentality and are largely committed to the idea of unification of the former Soviet republics.
Vot Tak writes that during the 28 years of his rule, Lukashenko built up an array of armed forces and intelligence operations of the country as a separate caste. During the 2020 suppression of civil protests, not only the ex KGB special forces, riot police, and Interior Ministry troops, but also separate airborne assault brigades showed their loyalty to the regime and cruelty to their own people in full measure.
At the same time, the Belarusian army does not have many armored vehicles: several hundred T-72 tanks of various modifications, of which only 20 are well equipped and modern. There are 30 MiG-29 fighters and 22 Su-25 attack aircraft, four Su-30SMs, and another 20 Su-27 fighters in storage and unlikely to be combat-ready at the moment.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg
There is a widespread belief among Ukrainians that the Belarusian army will not go against Ukraine. And if such an order is given, it will turn against Lukashenko himself. Knowing and fearing this, Lukashenko delays entering the war.
However, this opinion is based on a genuinely friendly relationship between the two nations, including the experience of the support that the Belarusians showed for the Ukrainians during the revolutions of 2004 and 2014, and on the general unwillingness to live under the leadership of the Kremlin. It’s notable that many Belarusians chose to flee to Ukraine seeking protection from Lukashenko's regime, as well as actively helping Ukrainian refugees during this war.
However, the people and the army in Belarus are not united, as demonstrated by the rallies in 2020. There is little the Belarusians themselves can do if the army is ordered to attack.
Still there is another factor traced back to history. Belarus was known for one very important element from World War II, which played a significant role in the German army's failure in the war against the USSR: widespread and well-trained underground resistance. Let's just say that the Belarusians may not be the most militant nation, but they are talented saboteurs. Since the beginning of the war, sabotage groups of Belarusians have mined the railroad tracks, preventing trains carrying ammunition from crossing to support the advancing Russian army.
The people and the army in Belarus are not united.
From sources that we cannot name, we know that individual Belarusian military, working incognito, are training Ukrainian soldiers at bases in Poland.
Since early 2022, the Belarusian regiment named after Kastus Kalinovsky, the 19th-century Belarusian writer and revolutionary, has been fighting on the side of Ukraine. It took an active part in the defense of Kyiv during the first days of the war.
Whether pockets of resistance turn into a mass movement is one more question we may find out in the coming weeks and months. Russians failed to muster the protest that would have stopped Putin's regime.
Perhaps the fear of repression and the experience of clashing with the Special Forces will also prevent the Belarusians from significantly rebelling against the regime if Lukashenko decides to go to full-scale war. In this case, Ukraine will have to wage a defensive war on two fronts.
What about the rest of the world?
The escalation of the war has been on possibility since the invasion began. That could happen in multiple ways, in terms of who is involved, where the fighting takes place and even the types of weapons used.
Scenarios of Russia invading another regional neighbor, such as Poland or Moldova, come with the risk that it could quickly spark a wider war with the West.
That is less likely if Belarus invades Ukraine. For Washington and London and Brussels, it's bad, but essentially more of the same. Indeed, Lukashenko’s ties (and resemblance) to Putin may be his greatest insurance policy. Or his greatest risk.
The Next Big Move? What Would Happen If Belarus Enters War Against Ukraine
As the war in Donbas is bogged down, the most likely major new gambit in Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine would be to get military support from his ally in Minsk, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. How would that actually go down?
Russian-Belarus joint military drills "Allied Resolve 2022" conducted air and ground operations in Belarus
What will Lukashenko do? It’s a high-stakes corollary to the even higher stakes "what-will-Putin-do" question that has been weighing on the world since the beginning of the year.
Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.
Few doubt that the role of Belarus and its leader Alexander Lukashenko — the 68-year-old strongman who's ruled Belarus since 1994 — is absolutely crucial to the outcome of the war in Ukraine. Will he invade? Will he bide his time? Will he do whatever Putin tells him to do?
Lukashenko's announcement Monday that he would deploy his troops alongside Russian forces near Ukraine shows that it is indeed increasingly likely that Belarus will enter the war.
Having cited the Saturday bombing of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, and the risk of a similar such attack on his country, Lukashenko is now set to welcome Russian forces alongside his near the border with Ukraine.
How would Belarus enter the war?
What would happen if Lukashenko moves past all the military training and posturing of the past four months — and attacks Ukraine? We can begin to construct a plausible answer by looking at the key factors:The capital of Belarus, Minsk, is only 500 kilometers from Kyiv, while the border itself is less than 160 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital. On the Belarusian border, there are not only Belarusian troops but also temporary Russian air bases. Also, the Belarusian border passes very close to other major cities of Ukraine: Chernihiv, Lutsk, and Rivne.
In terms of geography, it is from Belarus that an attack on Kyiv and central Ukraine is more dangerous also because the Chernobyl, Rivne, and Kremenchuk nuclear power plants are located there.
Also, the border between Belarus and Ukraine is largely comprised of forests and steppes, the roads through which are now being actively mined by the Ukrainian army in case of an infantry attack.
The "Belorusskiy gaiun" Telegram channel, which regularly monitors troop movements on Belarus’ territory, notes that the risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
"The restriction zone for flights of all types of civil aircraft in southern Belarus has been extended until Oct. 7, 2022. The ban on flights over southern Belarus was imposed on Feb. 24, 2022, with the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is from the south of Belarus that missiles are launched over the territory of Ukraine,” reports the Telegram channel.
“Since the beginning of the war, at least 689 warheads have been launched from the territory of Belarus in Ukrainian cities. Thus, the threat of missile attacks on the territory of Ukraine from the airspace of Belarus remains for at least another three months."
How strong is the Belarus army?
The Belarusian army is not particularly well-staffed and has not taken part in any military action since its independence at the end of the Cold War. Even if it fails to capture Kyiv or other major cities, its presence in the conflict would force some of the Ukrainian troops needed in the south and east of the country to redeploy. Belarus’ firepower could also deliver heavy blows to civilians and critical infrastructure.
The risk of an attack on Ukraine will remain for at least the next three months.
The Minsk-based newspaper Vot Tak writes that the strength of the Belarusian army is about 65,000 people, of whom only 45,000 are servicemen, and the remaining 20,000 are civilian personnel. We can add 12,000 soldiers of the Internal Troops to this number.
It's important to note that the internal troops are loyal to Lukashenko, and were involved in dispersing rallies in 2020 after the longstanding president rigged the results of the national election. These are the same troops that brutally dispersed peaceful, unarmed protesters. Hundreds of people were thrown into police vans, beaten, and raped.
Lukashenko's senior officers are also loyal, built on a Soviet mentality and are largely committed to the idea of unification of the former Soviet republics.
Vot Tak writes that during the 28 years of his rule, Lukashenko built up an array of armed forces and intelligence operations of the country as a separate caste. During the 2020 suppression of civil protests, not only the ex KGB special forces, riot police, and Interior Ministry troops, but also separate airborne assault brigades showed their loyalty to the regime and cruelty to their own people in full measure.
At the same time, the Belarusian army does not have many armored vehicles: several hundred T-72 tanks of various modifications, of which only 20 are well equipped and modern. There are 30 MiG-29 fighters and 22 Su-25 attack aircraft, four Su-30SMs, and another 20 Su-27 fighters in storage and unlikely to be combat-ready at the moment.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg
There is a widespread belief among Ukrainians that the Belarusian army will not go against Ukraine. And if such an order is given, it will turn against Lukashenko himself. Knowing and fearing this, Lukashenko delays entering the war.
However, this opinion is based on a genuinely friendly relationship between the two nations, including the experience of the support that the Belarusians showed for the Ukrainians during the revolutions of 2004 and 2014, and on the general unwillingness to live under the leadership of the Kremlin. It’s notable that many Belarusians chose to flee to Ukraine seeking protection from Lukashenko's regime, as well as actively helping Ukrainian refugees during this war.
However, the people and the army in Belarus are not united, as demonstrated by the rallies in 2020. There is little the Belarusians themselves can do if the army is ordered to attack.
Still there is another factor traced back to history. Belarus was known for one very important element from World War II, which played a significant role in the German army's failure in the war against the USSR: widespread and well-trained underground resistance. Let's just say that the Belarusians may not be the most militant nation, but they are talented saboteurs. Since the beginning of the war, sabotage groups of Belarusians have mined the railroad tracks, preventing trains carrying ammunition from crossing to support the advancing Russian army.
The people and the army in Belarus are not united.
From sources that we cannot name, we know that individual Belarusian military, working incognito, are training Ukrainian soldiers at bases in Poland.
Since early 2022, the Belarusian regiment named after Kastus Kalinovsky, the 19th-century Belarusian writer and revolutionary, has been fighting on the side of Ukraine. It took an active part in the defense of Kyiv during the first days of the war.
Whether pockets of resistance turn into a mass movement is one more question we may find out in the coming weeks and months. Russians failed to muster the protest that would have stopped Putin's regime.
Perhaps the fear of repression and the experience of clashing with the Special Forces will also prevent the Belarusians from significantly rebelling against the regime if Lukashenko decides to go to full-scale war. In this case, Ukraine will have to wage a defensive war on two fronts.
What about the rest of the world?
The escalation of the war has been on possibility since the invasion began. That could happen in multiple ways, in terms of who is involved, where the fighting takes place and even the types of weapons used.
Scenarios of Russia invading another regional neighbor, such as Poland or Moldova, come with the risk that it could quickly spark a wider war with the West.
That is less likely if Belarus invades Ukraine. For Washington and London and Brussels, it's bad, but essentially more of the same. Indeed, Lukashenko’s ties (and resemblance) to Putin may be his greatest insurance policy. Or his greatest risk.
Israel and the West have often asked: Where is the Palestinian Mandela? The divided regimes between Gaza and the West Bank continues to make it difficult to imagine the future Palestinian leader. Still, these three names are worth considering.
Abbas is 88, and has been the leading Palestinian political figure since 2005
Israel has set two goals for its Gaza war: destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.
But it has no answer to, nor is even asking the question: What comes next?
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the return of the current Palestinian Authority to govern post-war Gaza. That stance seems opposed to the U.S. Administration’s call to revitalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume power in the coastal enclave.
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But neither Israel nor the U.S. put a detailed plan for a governing body in post-war Gaza, let alone offering a vision for a bonafide Palestinian state that would also encompass the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers much of the occupied West Bank, was created in1994 as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement. It’s now led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005. Over the past few years, the question of who would succeed Abbas, now 88 years old, has largely dominated internal Palestinian politics.
But that question has gained new urgency — and was fundamentally altered — with the war in Gaza.
Hamas' history of rule
Hamas has ruled Gaza since its coup in 2007. For the past decade, regional efforts have failed to end the Palestinian division and establish a unified authority in Gaza and the West Bank.
Despite the lip service given by Washington, it’s hard to see a future with a largely unpopular 88-year-old leader in Abbas. Any current negotiations about what happens at the end of the war in Gaza — including the establishment of a Palestinian state — will have to come with some prospective toward the future. And that must include a leader with both vitality and popular legitimacy, as well as someone who can speak to external players, including Israel.
Analysts argued that it would be difficult to exclude Hamas from any future Palestinian government, given the group’s growing power and popularity among Palestinians.
Renowned Israeli writer Zvi Bar'el wrote in Haaretz on Nov. 17 that any future Palestinian leader, including imprisoned Marwan Barghouti, “can't ignore” the status the current war has given to Hamas.
Still, after the attack of Oct. 7, it’s virtually impossible to imagine any of the prominent Hamas leaders (either those inside Gaza or in exile in Qatar) being considered to lead a future Palestinian state. Moreover, the eventual negotiations to bring an end to the current conflict and envision any lasting peace are likely to have a major impact on what names emerge for the leadership role.
For the moment, here are three notable figures seen as potentially viable future Palestinian leaders.
May 8, 2023, Ramallah: Palestinians attend a ceremony marking the 21st anniversary of the arrest jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.
Currently in an Israeli prison, Marwan Barghouti has long been seen as a frontrunner to succeed the aging Abbas as the PA’s president. He was expected to run a prison-cell candidacy in the July 2021 presidential elections. But the vote never happened.
He was a charismatic young leader as a university student.
Barghouti was a charismatic young leader of the Fatah Movement in the 1980s when he was a university student, and now occupies a seat in its central committee, the groups’ highest decision-making body.
Israeli authorities arrested Barghouti in 2002, and a military court handed him five life sentences over allegations of orchestrating attacks against Israel. Israel has also accused him of establishing the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military arm.
He helped craft the so-called Prisoner’s Document, signed in 2006 by inmates affiliated with all Palestinian groups including Hamas, calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, for Palestinian resistance to be limited to territories occupied in the 1967 war.
Dubbed as “the Palestinian Mandela,” Barghouti was born in the village of Kobar in the occupied West Bank in 1962. He played a central role in the protests that grew to the First Intifada, or uprising, in the 1980s. That led to his deportation by Israel to Jordan in May 1987.
He returned to the West Bank in 1993, as part of the Oslo Accords, the most serious peace initiative between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but ultimately was seen as a threat and arrested.
His wife Fadwa Barghouti has long campaigned for his release, meeting regularly with regional and international officials. In August, she launched another international campaign under the banner of “Freedom for Marwan Barghouti, the Mandela of Palestine.”
April 4, 2023: Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, meets with the Palestinian police in the West Bank city of Ramallah
Hussein al-Sheikh is the main go-between for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate civilian matters in the occupied West Bank, in his capacity as chairman of the PA’s General Authority of Civil Affairs.
He was lauded as a pragmatic figure who has been able to compromise.
A member of Fatah’s central committee, al-Sheikh was born in 1960 in Ramallah, and spent 11 years behind bars in Israel between 1978 and 1989. During his time in the prison, he became fluent in Hebrew.
He was appointed a member of the National Leadership of the Uprising during the first Intifada, before he was promoted to become Fatah’s secretary general in the West Bank in 1999.
He served multiple times in the government in the past two decades. Following the Israel-Hamas war in 2014, he became the Palestinian representative of a three-member Gaza reconstruction committee that also included representatives from Egypt and Israel.
For years, he was lauded by Israeli and Western officials as a pragmatic figure who has been able to compromise and find a common ground.
In recent weeks, al-Sheikh has regularly met with Western officials to discuss the current Israel-Gaza war, including a high-level meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Arab top diplomats in the Jordanian capital last month.
27 October 2010, Marrakesh: Mohammed Dahlan, Member of the Central Committee of Fatah, Central Committee of Fatah, at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa.
Another name floated to lead a revitalized Palestinian Authority is Mohammad Dahlan.
An influential but polarizing Palestinian figure, Dahlan is a former head of the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security in Gaza and a senior member of Fatah opposed to President Abbas.
He was born in 1961 in a refugee camp in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis
He was a member of the group’s Central Committee until tensions with Abbas exploded and he was expelled from the group in 2011. Since then, he has lived in exile in the United Arab Emirates.
He serves as an adviser for the UAE’s President Mohammad Bin Zayed, and is widely known for having close ties with Israeli, American, and regional intelligence agencies.
Dahlan was born in 1961 in a refugee camp in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. He was one of the founders of the youth arm of the Fatah movement in Gaza, which was then under the Israeli occupation.
He returned to the Palestinian territories in 1994 as part of the Oslo Accords and was appointed chief of preventive security in Gaza.
He led a security campaign to suppress opposition to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which had faced stiff resistance following the Oslo Accords. Abbas and other Fatah leaders blamed Dahlan for losing Gaza for the group’s rival Hamas in 2007 after deadly clashes in the coastal enclave.
As tensions between the two men mounted, Abbas stripped Dahlan of his parliamentary immunity in 2016, leading to his conviction of embezzlement by a Palestinian court that sentenced him to three years in prison, and prompted him to flee in exile.