The Israeli government is divided over what to do about Gaza once the war is over, and the latest plan put forward by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant has intensified the debate.
Gallant plan This is not the official position of the Israeli government – yet. It should be discussed in the War and Security Councils first.
He calls on the Palestinians to govern themselves after the war, but does not say who will do so.
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The last war between Israel and Hamas
Yoav Gallant's plan must be discussed first
The plan does not indicate a role for the Palestinian Authority, which currently has limited control in the Palestinian territories West Bank – Or a bureaucracy of experts, academics and members of civil society may intervene.
The United States has previously said that it supports the Palestinian Authority's role in governance GazaBut the Palestinian Authority rejected this and said that it did not want to “enter Gaza on the back of an Israeli tank.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he does not support the Palestinian Authority taking control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The presence of a unified Palestinian national movement governing the two occupied territories would make it more difficult for Israel to claim that it “has no partner in peace,” and that the Palestinian political house is too divided to launch meaningful negotiations to reach a two-state solution.
Gallant's position is that there will be no role for agitation in the post-war governance of the sector and that the armed group will be defeated in this war.
It is not clear what maintaining “security” would involve.
Gallant calls on Israel to maintain its security control over the Gaza Strip after the war. Netanyahu said the same thing.
But it is unclear what this will mean for the 2.3 million people living in the devastated enclave.
This could mean that the IDF maintains operational control over Gaza and conducts raids, incursions, targeted attacks with drones and F-16s, and assassinates military commanders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, at will.
The IDF has long attacked Gaza when it wanted to, arguing that strikes and incursions were necessary for “security reasons.”
The difference now is that any Israeli ground incursion will likely be deep into the region.
IDF forces are active in Gaza. Photo: Israel Defense Forces
The plan does not indicate a permanent Israeli military presence, nor does it say that there will not be.
Yoav Galant says that the Israeli army must move to the third phase of the war, replacing aerial bombardment with attacks on specific targets and key figures.
However, the Palestinians have been waiting for this change for the past two weeks.
They say Gaza is still under aerial bombardment, including areas that were supposed to be safe, such as Rafah and Al-Mawasi.
The people of Gaza do not want to endure a third phase of the war, but rather a permanent ceasefire.
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What is Egypt's role?
According to the plan of the Israeli Defense Minister. Egypt He will be a “key player” in Gaza’s future.
Qatar took the leading role In negotiating the first temporary truce and hostage agreement, Egypt has since resumed its traditional role as the main player.
Egypt put forward its own four-stage plan to end the war, with a series of short-term ceasefires and exchanges of prisoners and hostages, which would lead to a permanent truce.
However, Israel will not agree to any plan that allows Hamas to remain in Gaza, nor will Hamas sign any deal in which it is not part of the final equation.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (right) met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in December
Calls for a multinational force
Ultimately, Gaza will need to rebuild. The Israeli air strikes destroyed the infrastructure of the Strip.
Gallant proposes forming an international force made up of European and Arab countries to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
But wealthy Gulf Arab states, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have spent money on Gaza before, only to destroy it, rebuild it, and then destroy it again.
These countries will want a guarantee that the Israeli army will not go to war there again.
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Explosions in Gaza with the end of the truce
Monitoring the borders and discussing the settlers
Gaza will remain under siege. It is not possible for Israel to give up its complete control over Gaza's borders, air space, or sea space after this war.
Gallant did not call for the return of Israeli settlers to Gaza, as some far-right government ministers have called for.
Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli Minister of Finance, renewed his call for the return of the settlers whom Israel withdrew from them in 2005.
Smotrich criticized Gallant's plan, calling it “a repeat of what happened before October 7” and called for “thinking outside the box.”
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“Bodies are piling up” in Gaza
Inside Gaza, people are still suffering
While Egypt, Israel and the United States talk about the next step for Gaza, the Palestinians say it is just a distraction from the actual war.
Health officials in Gaza say about 100 people are killed every day.
More than a million people have been displaced in the southern city of Rafah, almost all of them living in tents, and winter has arrived.
There is still barely any aid entering Gaza – about 100 trucks a day – which is not enough to feed the two million displaced people across the Strip.
Relief agencies say aid is not reaching the northern end of the enclave, where tens of thousands of people are living under the rubble of their homes.
