Israel has hopes of dismissed Fatah leader, Mohamed Dahlan, being appointed as governor of the Gaza Strip, a military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported yesterday.

Alex Fishman stated that Israel might go beyond having Dahlan in Gaza, and aim to have him replace Palestinian Authority (PA) President, Mahmoud Abbas. However, he insisted that Israel prefers to have two different Palestinian entities in Gaza and the West Bank.

Fishman added that this plan is supported by the Arab countries, including Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. He said that Dahlan, who fled the Gaza nine years ago, is ready to go back.

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Since the inclusion of Avigdor Lieberman in the Israeli government, Israeli officials renewed discussions regarding Dahlan’s return to Gaza, saying that Israel would be happy to have someone in Gaza with whom it has conducted negotiations in the past.

Fishman noted that Saudi Arabia would never object to removing Hamas from Gaza.

(MEMO, PC)