Jerusalem, Jan 5 (EFE).- Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has definitively stated that Israel will not ister the Gaza Strip after the war against the Islamist Hamas group, contradicting previous remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers.
Outlining his vision for the post-war scenario, Gallant said Palestinian players would be responsible for the future civil istration of the besieged Gaza Strip after the war ends.
“There will be no civil presence by Israel in the Gaza Strip after the war’s goals are achieved,” Gallant said on Thursday.
However, the Israeli minister noted that it would not be Hamas that would rule the Palestinian enclave any more.
“Hamas will not rule Gaza, and Israel will not exercise civil control over Gaza. It’s Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, which is why Palestinian players will be responsible for it, on the condition that they are not hostile toward Israel and will not operate against it.”
The statement in stark contradiction to what Netanyahu has repeatedly said, denying that the Palestinian National Authority, which governs small parts of the occupied West Bank, will be incharge of the enclave.
Gallant’s plan that he would present to Netanyahu contradicts the prime minister’s earlier statements that Israel planned to maintain an indefinite control over Gaza to ensure its own security.
On Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israeli settlers to return to the enclave after the war and for a “solution to encourage the emigration” of Gaza’s Palestinian population. Similar statements were made by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The remarks had drawn condemnation from Arab states and Israel’s closent ally, the United States.
Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas gunmen who killed some 1,200 people in communities near the border and took around 240 as hostages.
Israel’s bombings has killed more than 22,400 Palestinians, mostly children, women, and the elderly, in Gaza, according to Palestinian health ministry.
The military assault has forced most of the two million Gazans to leave their homes as the enclave turned into a heap of rubble.
Gallant said the Isreali military would continue its offensive and was looking to transition to a new approach in accordance with military achievements on the ground in the northern region of the strip.
He said the Israeli military operation would continue in Gaza until the hostages are returned, the “military and governing capabilities” of Hamas are dismantled, and military threats removed from the strip. EFE
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