Decision occurs despite the increase in internal and international criticism of the war, which is approaching two years
SAO PAULO, SP (Folhapress)-Israel’s security office approved a plan for the country’s armed forces to take control of the city of Gaza, a few hours after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reaffirms the intention to expand military presence to the entire Palestinian territory. The decision occurs despite the increase in internal and international criticism of the war, which is approaching two years.
According to a statement issued by the Cabinet on Thursday (7), the operation is part of the “proposal to defeat Hamas” and will be accompanied by the supply of humanitarian aid to the population outside the combat zones. According to The Times of Israel, it should also require the withdrawal of civilians from the city of Gaza, where there are currently about 800,000 people.
The action, therefore, should further decrease the territorial area in which the population of Gaza, approximately 2 million people, is allowed to stay.
In addition to the offensive, most of the cabinet members supported a list of five requirements that Israel intends to impose in exchange for the end of the war with Hamas: the disarmament of the terrorist faction; the return of all 50 hostages still in captivity (of which they are believed to be alive); the demilitarization of Gaza; that Tel Aviv maintains security control over the territory; and the creation of an alternative civil government without the participation of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, which rules part of the West Bank.
Hours before meeting with his office on Thursday, Netanyahu said he intends to assume military control of the entire Gaza Strip and later hand it over to a civil administration body.
The statement was given to the American broadcaster Fox News, when the prime minister was questioned if he intends to take control of the entire Palestinian territory.
“We intend, to ensure our safety and remove Hamas from there,” he said, before saying he has no intention of governor Gaza. “We want to surrender to Arab forces that will properly rule it without threatening us and offering the inhabitants of Gaza a good life. This is not possible with Hamas.”
The statement later issued by the cabinet also states that an alternative plan was rejected. The proposal, according to the text, would not guarantee the defeat of Hamas or the return of hostages.
According to The Times of Israel, although the text does not give details, the discarded proposal seems to have been presented by Army Chief Eyal Zamir, who opposes Gaza’s occupation for fear of a humanitarian disaster and risks to the life of the kidnapped Israelis, still kept in the territory.
It is unclear why the statement mentions only taking the city of Gaza, not the occupation of the entire territory, as Netanyahu had nominated to be its goal. Also according to The Times of Israel, the emphasis on the city located north of the territory suggests that the operation will be gradual, beginning in that region.
In reacting to Netanyahu’s lines, Hamas said the plans represent a blow during negotiations for a ceasefire and reveal the politician’s willingness to sacrifice hostages in the name of his personal interests. Later, faction representatives told the broadcaster Al Jazeera that they would treat any civil government installed by Israel as “part of the occupation forces”, suggesting that it would not give up the guerrilla war.
Netanyahu’s interview took place after days of tension between the government and the military summit, which differ from the plans to fully occupy the territory. The differences were clear at a meeting last Tuesday (5) between the Premier, his Security Office and Zamir, the army chief.
According to Israeli press, Netanyahu defended during the meeting that Tel Aviv completely took the Palestinian territory, even if it endanger the hostages under the power of Hamas. Zamir, in turn, would have stated that Gaza’s total occupation was a trap that could result in the death of the kidnapped.
The reports made the extreme right Israeli directly criticize the military.
On the same day, Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair, insinuated on social networks that there would be a supposed attempt at rebellion and blow against his father. Already Itamar Ben Gvir, National Security Minister and one of the most extremist members of the government, said that the military chief should make it clear that he would comply with the instructions of the political summit, “even if the decision to occupy and defeat is made.”
On Wednesday (6), it was the turn of the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, to say that the military would execute the orders of the cabinet. “After decisions are taken in the political sphere, the army will execute them with determination and professionalism – as has been done so far on all fronts.”
On the same day, finance minister, extremist Bezalel Smotrich, told reporters that he expected a decision for Gaza’s military control.
Hours before Thursday’s meeting, Zamir made his first public statements about the next stages of the war since he was appointed by Netanyahu in March. “We will continue to express our position without fear, in a pragmatic, independent and professional way,” he said.
“We are not dealing with theory – we are dealing with issues of life or death and the defense of the state, and we do so looking directly in the eyes of our soldiers and citizens of the country,” he said. “The culture of controversy is inseparable from the history of the people of Israel. We will continue to act responsibly, with integrity and determination, with the sole purpose of the good of the state and its security.”
For the UN, a possible expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza are “deeply alarming.” OCHA, the United Nations Humanitarian Aid Office, estimates that 87.8% of Gaza is under travel orders or within militarized areas, which means that 2.1 million civilians are squeezing in just over 12% of territory, which was already one of the most dense in the world even before the conflict.
Most residents have been displaced several times in the last 22 months, and last week, the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phases Classification), a UN -supported initiative, said Gaza suffers “the worst possible scenario” with one in three people spending several days without eating anything.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, almost 200 Palestinians starved in Gaza since the beginning of the war, almost half of them children.
