Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a “day after” plan for Gaza, his first official proposal for when the war in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory ends.
According to the document, presented to members of Israel’s security cabinet on Thursday and seen by Reuters, Israel would maintain security control over all land west of Jordan, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza – territories where the Palestinians want to create an independent State.
Effectively, the coastal territory will be governed in a proposal that stands to thwart efforts at creating a Palestinian State.
In the long-term goals listed, Netanayhu rejects the “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state. He says a settlement with the Palestinians will only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two sides – but it did not name who the Palestinian party would be.
In Gaza, Netanyahu outlines demilitarisation and deradicalisation as goals to be achieved in the medium term. He does not elaborate on when that intermediary stage would begin or how long it would last. But he conditions the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, much of which has been laid to waste by Israel’s offensive, on its complete demilitarisation.
Netanyahu proposes Israel have a presence on the Gaza-Egypt border in the South of the enclave and cooperate with Egypt and the United States in that area to prevent smuggling attempts, including at the Rafah crossing.
To replace Hamas rule in Gaza while maintaining public order, Netanyahu suggests working with local representatives “who are not affiliated with terrorist countries or groups and are not financially supported by them.”
He calls for shutting down the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and replacing it with other international aid groups.
“The prime minister’s document of principles reflects broad public consensus over the goals of the war and for replacing Hamas rule in Gaza with a civilian alternative,” a statement by Netanyahu’s office said.
The document was distributed to security cabinet members to start a discussion on the issue.
But indefinite Israeli security control will run counter to any push to establish a fully independent Palestinian State, which the U.S. has backed and which many supporters see as the only way to create a lasting peace in the region.
Another part of the plan includes calls for a buffer zone in Gaza, creating a neutral area in parts of Gaza connected to Israel, the AP reported. The document also calls for a local organization to govern Gaza that is not part of any terrorist group, ruling out Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Israel is waging a war against across the territory.
It may also rule out the Palestinian Authority; Netanyahu has specifically spoken against the Palestinian Authority ruling Gaza, accusing it of fomenting terrorism and radicalization against Israel from the West Bank.
The proposal is likely to meet resistance from the Palestinians, the U.S. and Arab nations, all of which have called for a full Palestinian state that includes the West Bank and Gaza.
Netanyahu’s refusal to endorse a Palestinian state has angered the Biden administration, which has pushed repeatedly for that plan along with a governing authority such as a revitalized Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.
Any post-war Gaza plan would only come after the fighting ends, the outlook of which remains unclear as the war carries on.
Israel has fought across nearly the entire territory and is planning an invasion of Rafah at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10.
Rafah is Gaza’s southernmost city, on the border with Egypt, where more than a million civilians are sheltering. While Israel is drafting a plan to evacuate civilians, the looming invasion there has sparked concerns of a permanent displacement of Palestinians over the border, along with a large loss of life and imperiled humanitarian aid.
The war has already taken more than 29,000 lives, but Israel says it must crush Hamas everywhere in Gaza, accusing the group of using Rafah to hide battalions.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ 7 October attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 29,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, told Reuters that Netanyahu’s proposal was doomed to fail, as were any Israeli plans to change the geographic and demographic realities in Gaza.
“If the world is genuinely interested in having security and stability in the region, it must end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and recognise an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEfwzYi1kmg?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sbs.com.au&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=3 The war in Gaza has revived international calls – including Israel’s main backer the United States – for the so-called two-state solution as the ultimate goal for resolving the decades long Israel-Palestinian conflict. However, a number of senior Israeli politicians oppose this.
The two-State solution has long been a core Western policy in the region but little progress has been made on achieving Palestinian statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.
