Palestinian deputy premier: Peace negotiations must include West Bank

The Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister has told CGTN an immediate end to the ongoing war with Israel is needed, in an exclusive interview with CGTN. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, who is also Minister of Information and spokesperson for Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, also outlined key priorities for future negotiations. 

The most important thing since the beginning of the war has been "stopping the war without losing the war," said Abu Rudeineh, urging that there should be an immediate end to this war before it spills over into the rest of the region.

Abu Rudeineh rejected the idea of limiting any discussions to Gaza alone. 

"We will discuss Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem together, not Gaza alone. We never left Gaza," said Abu Rudeineh.

From Ramallah, he said the ministry of finance sends $140 million per month to Gaza - for teachers, hospitals and doctors, electricity, water, for everything

"Since the beginning of the war, Israel has been deducting this money and that's why we are in a very difficult economic position," Abu Rudeineh said.

He insisted that "Gaza is part of the Palestinian land. If the war ends, we are ready to take charge of Gaza immediately. 

"We cannot accept anything without our approval, be it from Israel or America or any other party."

He urged Israel and the U.S. to "end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza" and that they must "leave the Palestinian people alone to manage our problems." 

He explained that it will then pave the way for elections.

"We can go to elections as we have several times. At that point, whoever wins will become in charge of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem," he said.

Abu Rudeineh acknowledged that the PA has signed five agreements with Hamas, but that "it has been difficult to implement these agreements because "the war is on, the genocide is on. So with whom shall we talk?" 

He added: "We have to end the war first. That's why we appreciate the position of the Security Council, including China, asking for a ceasefire."

He expressed hope that once the fighting ends and the situation stabilizes, it will be easier to talk about everything. 

"But all these decisions must be Palestinian decisions. We cannot accept the agenda of the regional powers or the United States of America, and Israel. So we can make our own independent decisions," he stressed.

Abu Rudeineh also made it clear that the PA will hold the U.S. responsible "to find the right donors to rebuild Gaza."

He declared: "Stop the war. Sit at the table according to the international law, then we will be ready to discuss everything once the ceasefire is enforced… according to the Arab Peace Initiative."

"There should be a Palestinian state from Gaza to the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. And we are ready for any agreement that the world would accept for keeping peace in the area."

Israel warned the Gaza war will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed dozens in the Palestinian territory and Hamas fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day.  

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that some of the 300,000 army reservists would get a break from the war, in order to prepare for the "prolonged fighting" ahead. 

A total of 21,978 Palestinians have been killed and 56,697 have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since October 7, the health ministry in Gaza said.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday