The United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of a temporary American administration in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters, based on five anonymous sources.
The proposal is for a Washington-led interim government to run the heavily bombed coastal enclave until it is sufficiently stabilised and demilitarised. Control would then be handed over to a Palestinian authority.
Exploratory stage
It remains unclear how long the US-led administration would remain in place. This would depend on developments on the ground, the sources said. The talks are said to be at an early and exploratory stage. The proposal has been compared to the interim administration the US set up in Iraq in 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Reuters notes that many details remain uncertain. The sources could not confirm whether a final agreement would be reached, nor which other countries might be invited to participate in such a post-war governing structure.
