Feb. 23 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally presented for the first time a plan for managing the Gaza Strip after Israel’s war with Hamas.
The one-page document, released Thursday night made no mention of the Palestinian Authority, instead saying that “local officials” with “administrative experience” and no ties to “countries or entities that support terrorism” will govern Gaza.
Netanyahu had previously said he would not allow the Palestinian Authority, at least in its present form to return to Gaza.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said the document was essentially a nonstarter for his organization and many Palestinians.
“If the world is genuinely interested in having security and stability in the region, it must end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and recognize an independent Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu’s plan also called for Israel to be able to lead a “de-radicalization” plan including involvement in “all religious, educational and welfare institutions in Gaza” and to maintain “operational freedom in the entire Gaza Strip without a time limit.”
Further, Israel would proceed with plans to establish a security border on the Palestinian side of the border that will remain in “as long as there is a security need for it” and a southern closure of the southern Gaza border with Egypt to prevent rearming of “terrorist factors.”
In the immediate term, Netanyahu also established that IDF would continue to demilitarize and remove the Hamas government and secure the release of Israeli hostages taken since the Oct.7 attack that spurred the war.
The document appears to contradict efforts by the United States and others in the West who want to use the post-war efforts to create a long-elusive Palestinian state. Some conservatives in Netanyahu’s cabinet, though, have already suggested the displacement of Palestinians in the area, something rejected by many Arab countries in the region.
