Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented a plan for the “post-war” in the Gaza Strip. At the end of the fighting, there would be “neither Hamas” nor “Israeli civil administration” in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented a first “post-war” plan on Thursday, January 4, to the press before submitting it to Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet. His draft envisages a Gaza Strip without Hamas and without “Israeli civil administration” at the end of the fighting. IDF strikes and operations 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”, Yoav Gallant said . Once these steps are accomplished, the plan moves to the “day after” phase: once the war is over, Hamas will no longer control the Gaza Strip, according to the defense minister’s plan.
No return of the settlers?
For several weeks, the Israeli Prime Minister’s war cabinet has been struggling to agree on the future they have in store for the Palestinian enclave. On Monday, January 1, the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, said he wanted to advocate the return of Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip to “encourage” Palestinians to emigrate to other countries. But the Defense Minister’s plan, which has not yet been adopted by the government, seems to contradict this idea: “there will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after the objectives of the war.”
Although the IDF would nevertheless maintain “its freedom of action” in the Palestinian enclave to stop any possible “threat”. Without clearly declaring who would be in charge of the administration of the Gaza Strip, Yoav Gallant specifies that “the inhabitants of Gaza are Palestinian. Consequently, Palestinian entities will be in charge (of its management) on the condition that it does not “There shall be no hostile action or threat against the State of Israel.”