In a television interview with an American channel, the Israeli Prime Minister says he wants to take over “overall responsibility for security” in the Gaza Strip.
Destroy Gaza and after? The Israeli Prime Minister affirmed, Monday, November 6, on the American channel ABC that“Israel will have, for an indefinite period, overall responsibility for security”. The first lesson from this declaration is that Benyamin Netanyahu has finally responded to the Americans, who for several days have been asking him more and more urgently for a plan or at least an outline for ending the crisis. The objective was therefore formulated, even if we suspected it a little, it consists of taking charge of security in the area.
For former Israeli military intelligence officer Raphaël Jerusalmy, the Jewish state had no other alternative anyway. “We do not have the choicehe says. We would love for someone else to take care of Gaza, I can guarantee that, but in fact Gaza is an overpopulated region, very problematic, and therefore no one wants to take care of it. Benjamin Netanyahu tells us that there are no plans to accept an international force with mandates that tie their hands. In the meantime, with the Egyptians completely losing interest in the Gaza Strip, only the Israelis remain, with the disappearance of Hamas, as long as there is a recurrence of terrorism.”
A medium-term vision and on the condition that Israel wins the war and eradicates Hamas from the Gaza Strip, which is not yet won. Because if the Israeli army is besieging Gaza City, the tunnel war has not really started.
A West Bank-style occupation or organization?
Therefore, assuming that Israel eliminates or drives Hamas out of Gaza, there are currently two scenarios on the table. First, the scenario of occupation is not the preferred option in Israel because the word is frightening, and it is used by Hamas to denounce the offensive of the Jewish state. And then, Israel must give itself the financial and military means to hold the territory. This means mobilizing more people, for longer with significant repercussions on the economy.
The alternative would be a West Bank-style organization, modeled on the model of cities in the occupied territories. Namely administrative power in the Palestinian Authority and security under the responsibility of an Israeli security body. In this configuration, the Hebrew State gives itself the right to intervene militarily whenever it wants, without being held accountable to the courts.