TEL AVIV — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented on Thursday a “post-war” plan for the Gaza Strip, according to which there will be “neither Hamas” nor “Israeli civil administration” in the Palestinian territory.
Gallant presented the broad outlines of the plan to the press before submitting it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, divided in recent weeks over the course of the war against Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
According to the plan, operations in the territory will “continue” until the “return of the hostages”, the “dismantling of Hamas’ military and governance capabilities” and “the elimination of military threats in the Gaza Strip.”
This will be followed by another phase, the “day after” of the war, in which “Hamas will not control Gaza,” according to the plan, which has not yet been adopted by the government.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday called for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza after the war and to “encourage” Palestinians to emigrate, following a similar call from his colleague Bezalel Smotrich.
But Gallant said Thursday that “there will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip once the objectives of the war have been achieved, although he clarified that the army will retain “freedom of action” in the territory to confront any threat.
“The inhabitants of Gaza are Palestinians. Consequently, Palestinian entities will be in charge (of management) on the condition that there is no hostile action or threat against the State of Israel,” Gallant added.
However, he did not specify which Palestinians will govern the territory of 2.4 million inhabitants.
The Defense Minister’s plan was presented on the eve of a visit to the Middle East by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, seeking to contain the spread of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Source: With information from AFP
