Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a plan for a post-war Gaza under which the territory would be governed by local Palestinian officials not affiliated with Hamas or its foreign backers, according to Israeli media.
The proposal, which Netanyahu presented to his security cabinet late Thursday night, also suggests that the Israeli army will continue the war against Hamas until it achieves key objectives. These include the elimination of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as the release of all hostages still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
The plan states that Israel will move forward with its already-in-motion project to establish a security buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the strip’s border.
The report notes that the zone will remain “as long as there is a security need for it”. The document also envisages Israeli security control “over the entire area west of Jordan” from land, sea and air “to prevent the strengthening of terrorist elements in […] the Gaza Strip and to thwart threats from them towards Israel.”
A key element of the plan was the dismantling of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, the report stated. Israel claims that several UNRWA employees took part in the 7 October attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people.
The United Nations fired the staff accused by Israel and launched an internal investigation of the agency. Several countries suspended funding for the agency after the Israeli allegations surfaced.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an adviser to Yasser Arafat, former president of the State of Palestine, stated:
“Gaza will only be part of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Any plans to the contrary are destined to fail. Israel will not succeed in attempts to alter the geographic and demographic reality in the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu has long condemned Palestinian autonomy, with Israel’s parliament also endorsing his proposal on Wednesday against any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
