«Israel categorically rejects international dictatorship»
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a plan for the future of Gaza after the expulsion of Hamas, which includes the “complete demilitarization” of the enclave, closing the southern border of the territory with Egypt, as well as the restructuring of Gaza's civil administration and education systems.
CNN obtained a copy of the plan that Netanyahu presented to members of Israel's security cabinet on Thursday evening. The prime minister's office told CNN it was circulated as a basis for discussion in preparation for further talks and comes after Netanyahu faced weeks of criticism for not having a concrete plan for Gaza's post-war settlement.
The plan comes as Israel sent a negotiating team led by Mossad director David Barnea to Paris on Friday to continue talks on a possible ceasefire and the release of hostages that could end the four-month war.
By According to the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian enclave, more than 29 thousand people have died in Gaza since the beginning of the war. The Hamas attack on October 7 killed 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities.
The document lays out a range of principles, from security and civil society changes to longer-term plans for who governs the territory.< /p>
According to the security dossier, the proposed plan would involve Israel closing Gaza's southern border with Egypt, giving Israel complete control over entry into and exit from the enclave. Egypt currently controls access to and from Gaza's southern border through the Rafah crossing.
Netanyahu's plan states that Israel will cooperate with Egypt “to the extent possible,” in coordination with the United States States.
It is unclear whether Israel has received Egyptian approval for this element of the plan or any part of it. But an Israeli official told CNN that the plan was “agreed upon” with the US.
There was no immediate official US response to the proposal.
The plan claims, as Netanyahu has previously said, that “ Israel will exercise security control over the entire area west of Jordan, which includes the entire West Bank and Israel, as well as Gaza.
The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Israel will be responsible for “implementing and overseeing” the demilitarization of the strip, the plan says, except as required to maintain public order.
At the civilian level, Netanyahu details the overhaul of Gaza's civil administration and education systems, including the apparent end of Gaza funding from Qatar, which the previous Netanyahu government approved and facilitated.
Local organizations running the civil service “will not be identified with countries or organizations that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them,” the plan states.
While this is likely a reference to Qatar, it is unclear whether this also applies to the Palestinian Authority, updated version which the US says should govern Gaza in the future.
Netanyahu's plan also calls for the «deradicalization» of the education system, which Israel and its allies have long accused of promoting anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.
The plan reiterates that Israel will work to close UNRWA, the main United Nations agency. supporting Palestinian refugees, and work to replace it with “responsible international aid agencies.”
Israel accuses about a dozen UNRWA employees of being directly involved in the October 7 Hamas attack. The agency employs about 13,000 people in Gaza.
Finally, the plan reaffirms Israel's insistence that the international community will not force it to recognize a Palestinian state, and Britain and US President Joe Biden have begun to consider this possibility, stresses CNN.
“Israel categorically rejects international dictates for a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said in a statement, arguing that recognition of a Palestinian state now would be “a huge reward for unprecedented terrorism.”
Many proposals are opposed by key parties. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already rejected the idea of creating a buffer zone. Egypt rejected the suggestion that Israel could control its border with Gaza. And the United Arab Emirates said that without a clear road map to an independent Palestinian state — ruled out by Netanyahu — it would not help pay the bills for rebuilding Gaza.
Netanyahu's pledge to dismantle UNRWA, the UN aid agency that supplies most international aid to Gaza, would be difficult to fulfill even before October 7. Now, with the UN warning that almost the entire population of Gaza faces “imminent famine,” the task would be enormous.
The plan makes no mention of the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu previously rejected suggestions that she could take control of Gaza. It is unclear whether he would now accept the restored version prevailing — and it is far from clear that the Palestinians, most of whom voted for Hamas in the 2006 elections, would accept it.
For now, Netanyahu's priority remains the destruction of Hamas and the return of more than 100 hostages kidnapped on October 7 who remain in Gaza; restarting hostage talks is a key goal of the high-level delegation Netanyahu sent to Paris on Friday. The United States and other countries hope the deal will prevent a ground operation in Rafah that could push the death toll in Gaza well above 30,000.
Most observers believe that once the war ends, Israel is facing an election that Netanyahu and his allies are predicted to lose. But it is far from clear that another leader — war cabinet member and former opposition leader Benny Gantz, who is touted as the favorite — would have a very different view of the situation in Gaza, CNN notes.