As the war in the Gaza Strip approaches the three-month mark, Israelis, Palestinians, Americans and others have begun to talk more openly about what will follow the end of the war that has erupted since the seventh of last October.
Reuters reported in a report today that the proposed plans being discussed will not satisfy the desires of all parties, but they will provide a framework for any negotiations that may occur, especially in light of the great difference in positions between the parties involved in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Talk about the future of Gaza comes in light of the continued Israeli aggression against the Strip for more than 90 days, which left more than 22,000 martyrs and nearly 58,000 injured, in addition to the destruction of basic infrastructure in the besieged Strip, according to officials from the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and the United Nations.
Israel
In Tel Aviv, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant became the latest participant in the conflict by speaking the day before Thursday about what he described as a plan for the “next day.” His plan envisages that the Palestinians will rule Gaza without Hamas, that the unity of the Gaza reconstruction tasks will return, and that Egypt will play a prominent role. The occupation army must have the freedom to carry out operations as needed to ensure that Gaza no longer poses any security threat.
Non-hostile parties
Gallant stated in a statement, “Hamas will not rule Gaza, and Israel will not rule Gaza’s civilians. The residents of Gaza are Palestinian, so Palestinian bodies will assume responsibility, provided that there are no hostilities or threats to the State of Israel,” he said.
Gallant provided few details about what Palestinian governance would look like, saying, “The body that will control the territories will exploit the capabilities of the current administrative mechanism (civil societies) in Gaza, which are non-hostile local actors.”
The Israeli Defense Minister’s statements coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal of the Palestinian Authority to play a role in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war on Gaza.
United State
Regarding the United States’ position on what will happen in Gaza after the war, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller believes that Washington wants to see the unification of the West Bank and Gaza under Palestinian-led rule, saying, “This is what we are working to achieve in the long term.”
The American spokesman added that there is a need for a transitional period, “but that is the vision that you will see the Secretary of State making progress on during this trip over the next week,” as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken holds further discussions about how Gaza will be managed during a diplomatic tour. He started a new visit to the Middle East yesterday, Friday, with a visit to Turkey, and will include 5 Arab countries and Israel.
Egypt
Regarding the position of Egypt, which played the role of mediator in the Israeli negotiations with Hamas for years, Reuters quoted two Egyptian security sources last month that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement rejected Cairo’s proposal to relinquish power in order to establish a permanent ceasefire.
The two sources indicated, according to Reuters, that Egypt proposed holding elections and provided guarantees to Hamas not to prosecute or prosecute its members, but the movement refused to make any concessions other than the release of the prisoners it holds.
Hamas’ position
In response to the Egyptian proposal, a Hamas official told Reuters that the future of Gaza can only be determined by the Palestinians themselves. This makes any surrender of power under an Israeli threat unacceptable.
The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a speech last month that “any arrangement in Gaza or on the Palestinian issue without Hamas or the resistance factions is an illusion and a mirage.”
Palestinian Authority
Its position was stated by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called for an immediate cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip and the holding of an international peace conference to reach a permanent political solution leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In an interview conducted with Reuters on December 8, Abbas reiterated his firm position in favor of negotiation rather than armed resistance to end the long-standing occupation, indicating that – based on a binding international agreement – he will work to revive the weak Palestinian Authority and implement the long-awaited reforms. And holding presidential and parliamentary elections, which were suspended after Hamas’ victory in 2006.
