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Eyal Zamir at the complaints in Jerusalem, one of Judaism’s holiest places. Picture from the beginning of March.
1/4foto: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP/TT
Israel’s defense manager has developed a merciless Gaza Plan that reflects a hardening attitude at both the country’s government and the United States. The idea is to crowd the Palestinians into a small “humanitarian zone”, while Israel annexes the rest.
Lieutenant Colonel Anders Ekholm asks if the proposals are realistic.
– It will take a lot of resources.
Defense Manager Eyal Zamir took office just a few weeks ago, but already has a proposal to “re -occupy” the Palestinian area, writes The Financial Times.
According to the proposal, Israel with massive military resources will “reinvitate” Gaza, and force the two million inhabitants into a humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi area. It covers less than a fifth of the Gaza Strip – or approximately the equivalent of Täby municipality.
Anders Ekholm, Lieutenant Colonel and PhD student at the Swedish Defense College focusing on the Israeli military, believes that the plans reflect Zamir’s different career. He is a armored officer and thus has a completely different military background than representative Herzi Halevi.
– That in itself means that we will see, and we are already doing that, another way to wage war and operations, says Ekholm.
Can be signal
Halevi came from the special associations, ie less strengths used to rapid operations, “raiding companies” as they are militarily called. Zamir is likely to reflect the large -scale of the armor units.
– They are very aggressive both these commanders, but they are in different ways, says Ekholm.
The plan has not yet been raised at the political level in Israel, but can be very controversial. Ekholm asks if it is realistic, or if it is a negotiating signal.
– It will take a lot of resources. And the question is whether you are interested in it, or if it is again a play.
Two reasons
But at the same time he can see the perspective of the Israeli military hawks. Palestinian Hamas has already managed an extremely intense warfare. And they are extreme Islamists.
– If the martyrdom is the finest you can achieve – such a player you cannot deter deadly violence, says Ekholm.
But territory, on the other hand, can act as a means of pressure, something even Defense Minister Israel Katz was in the other day.
Reason number two for the military that Ekholm sees is to appease the extreme right in the Israeli government.
– They cheer when they hear such things, they want to re -establish settlements larger than those that existed until 2005.
“Last man wants to go into”
However, Anders Ekholm himself is skeptical of a larger invasion and in particular occupation or annexation, since Israel would have to handle the supply of the entire Gaza population. And that for military reasons, regardless of the international law and human aspects.
– I think that, no, that is the absolute last thing you want to get into at all.
– Then you undoubtedly end up in an uprising fight, it will never end, it will be extremely bloody, he warns.
The facts chapter
Located on the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean. In addition to the sea, the area in the southwest borders Egypt and is otherwise enclosed by Israel.
The area was part of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years, later under British control (1918–48), and after that in practice under Egypt.
Israel took possession of Gaza in connection with the six -day war in 1967, and a few years later began building settlements there.
According to the 1993 Oslo agreement, Israel is to allow some autonomy in the Gaza Strip, and in 2005, Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forced all settlers to leave the area.
After Palestinian elections and an internal power struggle in 2006–2007, it took hard Islamist Hamas over the board, while Israel and Egypt maintained an increasingly harsh blockade.
Several wars have collapsed over the years. The current one, which began after Hama’s extensive terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, is the bloodiest to date and has put pretty much the entire Gaza Strip in ruins.
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