Defense Minister of Israel Yoav Gallant on Thursday presented a four-pronged plan for how to handle the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group ends, with the IDF retaining full military control but no civilian presence, and local Palestinian authorities playing a central role in civil affairs,
The Times of Israel reports.
The plan, which was set to be presented in discussions on Thursday evening in both the limited war cabinet and the broader security cabinet, does not include a role for the Palestinian Authority, and it does not provide for resettling Gaza.
The plan marks the first time a senior Israeli official has laid out a detailed blueprint for the Strip after the war, but it does not yet represent official policy, as there are stark differences over it within the coalition.
Gallant told journalists before the meeting that his framework is based on the assumption that Hamas is no longer in control of Gaza and does not pose a security threat to Israel. It focuses on the civil governance of the strip, with Israel retaining military control on the borders, and the right to take any military and security action necessary inside Gaza.
“Gaza residents are Palestinian, therefore Palestinian bodies will be in charge, with the condition that there will be no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel,” Gallant said.
While Gallant’s insistence on full Israeli security control and freedom of action is shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Gallant plan’s emphasis on Palestinian civilian control over Gaza, with no Israeli civilian presence there, has angered hardline coalition partners. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose desire for renewed Jewish settlement in Gaza is ruled out in Gallant’s plan, said Thursday that he firmly opposed it.
“Gallant’s ‘day after’ plan is a re-run of the ‘day before’ October 7,” Smotrich said. “The solution for Gaza requires out-of-the-box thinking and a changed conception.” Smotrich repeated his contention that a solution for Gaza involves “encouraging voluntary emigration [of Gazans] and full [Israeli] security control including renewed settlement.”
