War between Israel and Hamas: The Jewish state presents its project for the Gaza Strip after the fighting

And after ? The question has been asked many times: what will happen in the Gaza Strip after the war? Before Israel’s brutal response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, the Palestinian territory was ruled after the 2007 elections by Hamas, a rival to Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah, which heads the Palestinian Authority and thus the West Bank. But after ? “Hamas will not control Gaza,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday night, just as Israel will not control the Palestinian enclave.

Yoav Gallant revealed to the press the broad outlines of his first “post-war” plan before presenting it to Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, which has been divided in recent weeks over what to do next in the war against the Islamist movement. Gaza for sixteen years.

According to the four-phase plan, operations in the Gaza Strip will “continue” until the “return of the hostages”, the “dismantling of Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities” and the “elimination of the military threat in the Gaza Strip.”

Military to Israel, civilians and reconstruction to the international coalition

After which another phase, the “next day” of the war, will begin, according to which “Hamas will not control Gaza,” according to this plan, which at this stage has not been accepted by the government. “Once the objectives of the war are achieved, there will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip,” Gallant assured, adding that the Israeli army will, however, retain “its freedom of action” in Gaza to contain any possible “threat.” In short: Israel will maintain military control of the borders and could invade the Gaza Strip at any time if security is at stake.

Otherwise, “the residents of Gaza are Palestinians. Therefore, the Palestinian entities will have responsibility (governance) provided that there are no hostile acts or threats against the State of Israel,” the defense minister confirmed, without specifying which Palestinian should govern the territory of 2.4 million people. .

In recent weeks, analysts have discussed various scenarios, such as the return of Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA), which is currently in the occupied West Bank, to the Gaza Strip after the war. According to the Israeli press, existing Palestinian civilian leaders in Gaza will be integrated into the local government. Strategic Affairs Secretary Ron Dermer was also expected to brief the Cabinet on details of the plan he presented to US officials last month as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins a new tour of the Middle East.

Identifying new Palestinian leaders

According to the Jerusalem Post, the transition will be organized under the control of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, possibly, European countries that will help manage the Gaza Strip and restore the territory. This period will allow the emergence of new leaders, Palestinian and not subject to the ideas of Hamas. Egypt, which is considered a “major player” in this regard, will take responsibility for the main civilian border crossing into the Gaza Strip in coordination with Israel.

However, in an interview with the Financial Times, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh spoke in favor of “a political solution for all of Palestine,” not just the Gaza Strip. “People are starting to talk about tomorrow, about a Palestinian Authority running Gaza again,” but Israel “wants to politically separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank,” he criticized.

Gallant’s plan does not include relocating Israeli settlers to the Gaza enclave, contrary to the views of other ministers who support it. It also does not establish a time horizon or duration of the transition.