Israeli Defense Ministry’s ‘day after’ plan for Gaza: Int’l forces working with local Palestinians, not the PA

Peloni: Israel should resist the pressure to agree to any plan for the Day After.  Also, when the time comes to formulate a plan, it should recognize the history of the series of failures which came from the use of international forces.  This is an Israeli issue which will affect Israeli civilians and should be dealt with and controlled by Israel alone.

Hamas will not rule Gaza and Israel will not rule Gaza,’ Defense Minister Gallant said, ruling out the building of Israeli settlements in the enclave

By Lahav Harkov, JEWISH INSIDER January 4, 2024

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant plans to present the war cabinet with a road map for the administration of Gaza after the end of the war, in which Israel, an international force, Egypt and local Palestinians — but not the Palestinian Authority — would all play a part, Gallant said in a briefing on Thursday. After the war, he said, “Hamas will not rule Gaza, and Israel will not rule Gaza.”Gallant’s plan, drawn up by the Defense Ministry with input from the IDF, is based on four major partners.First is Israel, which would need full freedom to act militarily in Gaza to ensure that Hamas and other hostile groups cannot threaten Israel or the people of Gaza, Gallant said. Israel would also provide relevant intelligence to the other partners and would inspect all goods entering Gaza.

Gallant ruled out any Israeli civilian presence in Gaza. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich floated the idea of Israelis resettling Gaza and, together with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for hundreds of thousands of Gazans to migrate elsewhere, ideas that the State Department earlier this week called “inflammatory and irresponsible.” On Tuesday, a senior Israeli diplomatic source called Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s comments “baseless delusions,” saying that “no country is going to absorb” any significant number of Palestinians.

The second prong of the Defense Ministry’s “day after” plan is Egypt, “a central player in any solution,” Gallant said, noting that there are ongoing talks on the matter with Cairo. Egypt would be the point of civilian entry into Gaza and would share control with Israel over who and what is permitted to enter. 

An international force that would be led by the U.S. and include Western European states including the U.K., France and Germany, as well as moderate Arab states – likely the UAE and Bahrain – would be responsible for the physical and economic rehabilitation of Gaza.

Finally, local Palestinians would handle the everyday administration of Gaza. Gallant cited 30,000 Palestinian civil servants who currently reside in Gaza, handling matters such as sewage and electricity. The Defense Ministry has lists of such people who are not hostile to Israel or otherwise affiliated with Hamas, and would share such information with the international force.

“Palestinians live in Gaza, and the people who need to be responsible for Gaza are Palestinians on the condition that they are not hostile to Israel and will not act against it,” Gallant said.

The matter of who will enforce law and order in Gaza is still under discussion, the source said.

Absent from Gallant’s plan is a role for the Palestinian Authority. A senior diplomatic source said that the PA cannot be part of the process because “it cannot and should not take control of Gaza … For the PA to take responsibility, it has to commit to fixing itself. Therefore, it is not immediately relevant,” the source said, pointing out that even the U.S. uses “R words” such as “revitalized” or “reformed” when it calls for PA involvement.

The Defense Ministry has discussed post-war Gaza with the White House, State Department and Pentagon, as well as European partners and Gulf states, the source said.

The day-after plan will only be relevant after Israel reaches its war aims of securing the release of the hostages and ensuring that Hamas is no longer capable of controlling Gaza or threatening Israel, Gallant said, adding that the time is ripe to discuss the matter because Israel is moving to a different mode of fighting.

At this point, Israel is working to “wear down pockets of resistance that remain in the territory while advancing a governmental alternative that is not hostile to Israel,” Gallant stated.

In northern Gaza, he said, the IDF will move to a phase of raids, destroying tunnels and special operations on land and from the air. In the south, Israel will prosecute the war differently and in a more targeted fashion against Hamas leadership, and to try to free the some 130 hostages.
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JPOST

T. Belman. What to do the day after should be a political decision, not a security decision. It seems to me that what Gallant and top defense officials want is a continuation with what was, using the same international actors to decide.  The difference between them and the US is insignificant. The US wants to reform the PA and have it rule. The IDF officials want to reform the Gazans and have them rule. What’s the difference?  None of them want to reconsider the Oslo Accords, voluntary emigration, replacement of UNRWA with UNHRC. And they want to rely on the same countries and people who created this mess to straighten it out. This is the old conceptia. We need a new broom and new thinking.

Not Hamas or Israel: Who will run post-war Gaza? IDF plans revealed
While The Jerusalem Post previously reported that top defense officials want local Gazan Palestinians to run Gaza once the IDF starts to withdraw, this was only part of the picture.

Local Palestinians would govern Gaza after the war with the help of an International coalition, which would also provide internal security, according to a plan presented to the war cabinet and the security cabinet on Thursday.

“Hamas will not rule Gaza,” said Gallant in a press briefing before the meeting, “and Israel will not hold a civilian governorship over Gaza.”

The defense establishment and Gallant also do not completely disqualify the Palestinian Authority from playing some role, though the defense minister would prefer to minimize its role or only give it a role if aspects of its policies toward Israel improve.

The plan, however, focused on the integration of existing Palestinian civilian leadership in Gaza into a more substantial local government.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was also expected to brief the cabinet on details of a plan that he presented to US officials last month.

The cabinet meetings, which mark the most substantive and broadest debate yet on plans for Gaza after the war, comes in advance of a visit next week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

After departing the US on Thursday, he is expected to travel to Türkiye; Crete, Greece; Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. No exact schedule was published.

The US and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been at odds over plans for the day after. The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza and to advance a two-state resolution to the conflict.

Netanyahu has insisted that it must be an entirely new and reformed Palestinian entity. His government also wants to close the crossings from Israel into Gaza, replacing them with a land passage through the Rafah crossing from Egypt and a sea route originating in Cyprus.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said,

“What we want to see achieved long term is a reunited West Bank and Gaza under Palestinian-led governance.” He explained that this is the vision Blinken will advance when talking to Israelis during his visit.

Palestinian Authority’s role to be minimized.
While The Jerusalem Post previously reported that top defense officials want local Gazan Palestinians to run Gaza once the IDF starts to withdraw, this was only part of the picture, with the remainder of the picture involving the US, the EU, and moderate Sunni allies.

Essentially, the concept of the defense establishment, which includes Gallant, is that eventually, more and more civil administration should be handled by local Gazans without Hamas loyalties themselves, but that this will not be possible all at once.

In some undefined transitional period, the IDF will retain broad security responsibility, including over the borders and with authority to conduct raids, but some hybrid mix of forces provided by the US, European allies, and Arab allies, such as the Saudis, Egypt, the UAE and others will assist with aspects of internal security and administration.

Only once the residents get their bearings, have more stable residences and lives, and appear ready to stand on their own if facing minor challenges from remnants of Hamas and other terror groups would the international conglomerate of countries yield more management to the local groups.

Netanyahu has avoided public debates on these issues and has mostly talked about what he is against: Such as no involvement by the PA.

However, the US, the EU, and the moderate Arab states may not agree to participate and provide funding, which could leave Israel stuck if Jerusalem does not show flexibility.

Further, Israel may be going to elections, in which case officials like Minister Benny Gantz, who appear more open to the PA and global suggested solutions in general, may end up deciding the issue.

It is also unclear how Israel will select Gazans who are truly disconnected from Hamas after the terror group’s 16-year rule, but Gallant is confident that groups can be found or formed.

At the State Department Miler said,

“You will see us pushing additional steps on what Gaza should look like at the end of the conflict.”

“We have been working very hard in this building, throughout the administration, and quietly with allies and partners throughout the world on what the day after should look like.”

“Those are going to be some of the toughest conversions, of course, but we are ready to pursue them,” he said.

While Blinken is in Israel, Miller said he will also discuss the importance of increasing the transit and distribution of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including the creation of a deconfliction mechanism for the delivery of that aid.

The State Department added that Blinken will also underscore the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians and ensuring that Palestinians are not “forcibly displaced” from Gaza.

The promotion of a deal to secure the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza is also on his agenda, as is ensuring that the conflict doesn’t widen to include Hezbollah in Lebanon.

At each of his stops, Blinken will also speak about the importance of stopping Houthi attacks against Red Sea shipping routes.