Netanyahu's plan - the "day after" for Gaza: Israel's control over the territories where the Palestinians want to create a state

In Gaza, Netanyahu highlights demilitarization and deradicalization as goals to be achieved in the medium term

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Netanyahu, Photo: Reuters
Netanyahu, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a "day after" plan for Gaza, his first official proposal once the war in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory ends, reports Reuters.

According to the document, presented to members of Israel's security cabinet on Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday, Israel will retain security control over all land west of Jordan, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza - territories where the Palestinians want to create an independent state.

In the stated long-term goals, Netanyahu rejects the "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state.

He says a solution with the Palestinians will only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two sides - but he did not specify who the Palestinian side would be.

In Gaza, Netanyahu highlights demilitarization and deradicalization as goals to be achieved in the medium term.

He does not specify when this intermediate phase will begin or how long it will last.

But he conditions the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, which was largely destroyed by the Israeli offensive, on its complete demilitarization.

Netanyahu proposes that Israel maintain a presence on the Gaza-Egypt border in the south of the enclave and cooperate with Egypt and the United States in that area to prevent smuggling attempts, including at the Rafah crossing.

To replace Hamas rule in Gaza while maintaining public order, Netanyahu suggests working with local representatives "who are not affiliated with, and not financially supported by, terrorist countries or groups."

He calls for the closure of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRVA, and its replacement by other international aid groups.

"The Prime Minister's Principles Document reflects a broad public consensus on the goals of the war and replacing Hamas rule in Gaza with a civilian alternative," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The document was distributed to members of the security cabinet to start a discussion on the matter.

The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1.200 people and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli reports.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel responded with an air and ground attack on blockaded Gaza that killed more than 29.400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The offensive displaced most of the territory's population and caused widespread famine and disease.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudayneh, told Reuters that Netanyahu's proposal was doomed, as were all Israeli plans to change the geographic and demographic reality of Gaza.

"If the world is truly interested in security and stability in the region, it must end Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and recognize an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," he said.

The war in Gaza has revived international calls - including from Israel's main backer - the United States - for a so-called two-state solution as the ultimate goal to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, a number of senior Israeli politicians oppose it, writes Reuters.

The two-state solution has long been a key Western policy in the region, but little progress has been made in achieving Palestinian statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.

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