Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Thursday that Israel intends to occupy the Gaza Strip to establish a civilian government there free of Hamas influence, despite fierce opposition from the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and many Israeli citizens, who accuse ‘Bibi’ of endangering the lives of hostages still held by Hamas and artificially prolonging the war to stay in power.
In an interview given from his office to US broadcaster Fox News and quoted by many outlets including the BBC, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel intends to take control of the entire Gaza Strip but does not want to rule the Palestinian enclave, in comments made shortly before the Israeli cabinet met under his leadership to discuss precisely the prime minister’s proposal to take over the entire strip militarily.
“We intend to (take control of Gaza) in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free … and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu responded when asked by a FOX News reporter whether Israel will take control of Gaza. “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving the Gazans a good life,” he insisted.
Hamas immediately responded to these statements by accusing Netanyahu of “planning to continue his approach of genocide and displacement by committing more crimes”. For its part, the United Nations warned that a full military takeover of Gaza could have “catastrophic consequences” for both Palestinian civilians and the remaining Israeli hostages. The UK ambassador to Israel, Simon Walters, warned that carrying out such a plan would be “a huge mistake”.
Strong opposition among military to Netanyahu’s plans
Coinciding with the start of the Israeli security cabinet meeting, hundreds of Israeli citizens demonstrated near Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem demanding a deal to free the hostages still held by Hamas. However, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu believes the takeover of Gaza is the only way to completely destroy Hamas’s power and free the hostages still held by the group.
Despite this, several sources claim that the head of the Israel Defense Forces – General Eyal Zamir– and even some cabinet ministers oppose the idea of a ‘conquest’ of Gaza, arguing that the plan would trap Israeli soldiers in the enclave and would be a death sentence for the few dozen Israeli hostages still alive. Many also fear that the capture of Gaza is in fact part of a wider plan to expand Israel’s borders at the expense of the Palestinian territories, after the Israeli parliament recently voted to annex the West Bank.
The Israeli army already controls around three-quarters of Gaza, where most of the population has been displaced by the war; extending the current offensive for a total capture and control of the enclave would mean that many more civilians would be displaced as Israeli forces take the remaining areas by force, exacerbating a desperate situation for Palestinians, most of whom are forced to live in makeshift tents and suffer from thirst, hunger and disease.
Gaza hospitals have reportedly recorded at least four new deaths from “famine and malnutrition” in the last 24 hours, sources in the Gaza Strip’s health ministry said, bringing the total number of deaths related to lack of food to 197 – including 96 children– since Israel launched a fierce offensive into the Palestinian territory in the wake of Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
