10/9/2024–|Last update: 10/9/202408:46 AM (Makkah Time)
Haaretz newspaper revealed yesterday, Monday, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government are preparing for the next stage of the war on Gaza, which includes preparing for settlement and annexing the northern Gaza Strip.
This came in an analysis by the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Aluf Benn, in which he said that Israel is entering the second phase of the war on Gaza, where it will attempt to complete its control over the northern part of the Strip up to the Netzarim axis (established by the Israeli army in the middle of the Gaza Strip, separating its north from its south).
He added that the area would be gradually prepared for Jewish settlement and annexation to Israel, depending on the degree of international opposition that would arise after such steps.
He said that if the plan is implemented, the Palestinian population remaining in northern Gaza will be removed from there, as Colonel (res.) Giora Eiland suggested, by threatening starvation, while the Israeli army pursues Hamas militants in the area.
The Israeli writer pointed out that Netanyahu dreams of expanding the lands of Israel, and this would be his absolute victory.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief confirmed that the entry into the new phase of the war began with a bureaucratic announcement issued on August 28 regarding the appointment of Brigadier General Elad Goren as head of civilian humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip within the Israeli government’s Coordination of Government Activities Unit.
He said that this long title that Goren will carry will remain until an abbreviation is created for it by the Israeli army, equivalent to the head of the civil administration in the West Bank, adding, “In practice, he should be called the governor of Gaza.”
UNRWA Expulsion
According to the editor-in-chief of Haaretz, in the next step, Netanyahu instructed the army last week to prepare to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza instead of international organizations.
But Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi expressed reservations, warning of the danger to soldiers and the high costs, but Netanyahu was not convinced and stuck to his position, according to Ben.
He pointed out that with control over the entry of aid, Israel will have the opportunity to expel the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from Gaza once and for all, which the Israeli right considers an anti-Zionist project.
“In the meantime, Hamas will continue to control the area between the Netzarim axis and the Philadelphi axis on the Egyptian border, under the encirclement and siege of Israel, which will be responsible for delivering aid. This is the meaning of Netanyahu’s statement regarding the axis – in which he said – the border between Gaza and Egypt will remain under Israeli control,” he added.
Regarding the Israeli detainees in the Strip, Ben said that Netanyahu’s concession on returning the kidnapped Israelis, and leaving them to suffer terrible torture and death in Hamas tunnels, aims to turn things upside down on the head of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
He added, “Instead of the detainees being a treasure to be obtained in return from Israel, they will become a burden on the Palestinians and a justification for Israel to continue the war, the siege and the occupation. Thus, Israel enters the second phase of its war with Hamas.”
The indirect negotiations between Tel Aviv and Hamas have reached a critical stage, due to Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war on the Strip, and his adherence to the Philadelphi and Netzarim axes in the south and center of the Strip, while Hamas demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the return of the displaced without restrictions.
With full American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 135,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.
In contempt of the international community, Israel continues this war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.