11:44, 5 January 2024
YEREVAN, JANUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday presented a four-pronged plan for how to handle the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war with Hamas ends, the Times of Israel reports.
The plan, which was set to be presented in discussions on Thursday evening in both the limited war cabinet and the broader security cabinet, does not include a role for the Palestinian Authority, and it does not provide for resettling Gaza.
The plan marks the first time a senior Israeli official has laid out a detailed blueprint for the Strip after the war, but it does not yet represent official policy, as there are stark differences over it within the coalition.
Gallant told journalists before the meeting that his framework is based on the assumption that Hamas is no longer in control of Gaza and does not pose a security threat to Israel. It focuses on the civil governance of the strip, with Israel retaining military control on the borders, and the right to take any military and security action necessary inside Gaza.
“Gaza residents are Palestinian, therefore Palestinian bodies will be in charge, with the condition that there will be no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel,” the Times of Israel quoted Gallant as saying.
While Gallant’s insistence on full Israeli security control and freedom of action is shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Gallant plan’s emphasis on Palestinian civilian control over Gaza, with no Israeli civilian presence there, has angered hardline coalition partners. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose desire for renewed Jewish settlement in Gaza is ruled out in Gallant’s plan, said Thursday that he firmly opposed it. “Gallant’s ‘day after’ plan is a re-run of the ‘day before’ October 7,” Smotrich said. “The solution for Gaza requires out-of-the-box thinking and a changed conception.” Smotrich repeated his contention that a solution for Gaza involves “encouraging voluntary emigration [of Gazans] and full [Israeli] security control including renewed settlement.”
The Israeli defense minister’s plan, which has already been presented to the US administration and discussed with other allies, has four “pillars” for civil rule in post-war Gaza.
First, Israel will coordinate and plan an oversight role in civil governance, and be responsible for inspecting incoming goods.
Second, a multinational task force, led by the US in partnership with European and moderate Arab nations, will take responsibility for running civil affairs and the economic rehabilitation of the Strip.
Third, Egypt, which is noted as a “major actor” in the plan, will take responsibility for the main civilian border crossing into the Gaza Strip, in coordination with Israel.
Fourth, existing Palestinian administrative mechanisms will be maintained, provided that the relevant officials are not affiliated with Hamas. Local authorities that currently deal with sewage, electricity, water and humanitarian aid distribution will continue to operate, in collaboration with the multinational task force.