JERUSALEM — Reports from the Prime Minister’s Office say that the Israeli security council has approved Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for the military occupation of Gaza City. Netanyahu had said before that Israel wants to take “full control” of the Gaza Strip to “ensure security” and get rid of Hamas, but he stressed that Israel does not plan to run the area for a long time.
The strategy that was authorized is said to be put into action in stages. The Prime Minister’s Office also said that civilians outside of active fighting zones would get humanitarian help. This is happening because the UN and other international groups have warned that a famine is happening in some parts of Gaza, and hundreds of Palestinians have died while trying to get help.
Concerns about hostages and internal dissent
However, there are some who disagree with the plan. Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli military, has reportedly said he doesn’t agree with the suggestion. He warned that a full takeover would be a “trap” for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), making it hard to keep the remaining prisoners safe. Zamir has suggested that instead of a full-scale land invasion of the remaining heavily populated places, the best plan would be to surround them.
Hamas is still holding roughly 50 captives in Gaza, and Israeli officials think that about 20 of them are still alive. Families of the hostages are really worried that the crisis would get worse and put their loved ones’ lives in even more jeopardy. They have asked military authorities to resist any acts that could put a possible negotiation at risk.
The plan is not acceptable to Hamas.
Hamas has called Netanyahu’s plan a “coup” and criticized it. The terrorist group said in a statement that Netanyahu was using the dispute to further his “personal interests and extremist ideological agenda” and that he was willing to “sacrifice” the captives to reach his ambitions. Hamas also said that any Arab army that works with Israel to run Gaza would be seen as a “occupying” power.
Netanyahu has said that he wants to eventually give control of Gaza to “Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.” However, no Arab government has said it is willing to do this yet.
This move is a big step up in the conflict and goes against Israel’s decision in 2005 to pull its soldiers and settlers out of Gaza. The security cabinet has authorized the plan for Gaza City, but it is said that a full cabinet decision is needed for the whole Gaza Strip to be fully occupied. The humanitarian effects of this increased military action could be very bad, given millions of Palestinians are now living in displacement camps in the few places in the land that haven’t been destroyed by the war.