What will happen next in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas? Should the Israeli settlers stay or go? And who should manage the coastal strip? There is disagreement.
After three months, there is no end in sight to the war between the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas and Israel. It is also completely unclear what the future of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip will look like. Israeli, Palestinian and US officials have very different ideas. An overview:
What plans does Israel have?
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented a plan for the post-war administration of the Gaza Strip last Thursday, which has yet to be approved by the War Cabinet. Accordingly, Israel will continue the war until the hostages kidnapped by Hamas are freed, Hamas is destroyed and it no longer poses a threat.
After that, there will be “no more civilian Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said. However, the army reserves the right to intervene in the event of danger. According to the plan, Palestinian authorities will manage the coastal area in the future.
The extreme right in government has a very different vision for the future of the Gaza Strip. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir last week called for the return of Israeli settlers. The Palestinian population, on the other hand, should be “encouraged” to emigrate. The right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds similar views. Both politicians live in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk said he was “very concerned about the statements made by high-ranking Israeli officials about bringing civilians from the Gaza Strip to third countries.” Israel withdrew its soldiers and 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. Internationally, however, Israel was still considered an occupying power because it controlled and blocked access to the Palestinian territory.
What can the USA imagine?
As Israel’s most important ally and military supporter, the United States has significant influence on the postwar order. According to Washington, a revamped Palestinian Authority should take over administration of the Gaza Strip after the fighting ends. The Palestinian Authority, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is currently the Palestinian authority in the occupied West Bank and is extremely unpopular there.
“Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, and Hamas will no longer determine its future,” the US State Department said last week, rejecting the comments by Ben Gvir and Smotrich as “irresponsible.”
What do the Palestinians want?
Hamas seized sole control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting Abbas’s rival Fatah party, with which it had shared power since its surprise victory in parliamentary elections the year before. Several attempts at reconciliation between the parties failed.
Last week, however, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said he was willing to cooperate. “We are open to the idea of a national government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” he said. Abbas sees the Gaza Strip as an “integral part” of the state the Palestinians want.
The Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians provide for an independent Palestinian state. But the peace process that began in the 1990s has been stalling for a long time, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no interest in continuing it. Instead, he and his far-right coalition partners expanded settlements in the West Bank, making it more difficult to establish a Palestinian state.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
