Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted his government’s failure to impose an alternative to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and to involve local Palestinians in the management of the Gaza Strip.
He added that talking about the next day is just empty talk as long as the Hamas movement exists.
Netanyahu’s statements came in a video clip broadcast last Monday in which he admitted that he had ordered the army to allow local Palestinians in the Strip to participate in the process of land management and aid distribution, but the attempts failed.
He said, “Until it becomes clear that Hamas does not have military control over Gaza, no one will be willing to tolerate the civil administration of Gaza for fear of their lives.”
Netanyahu’s statements are an implicit admission that Hamas still essentially controls the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, Netanyahu renewed his government’s opposition to the United Nations resolution issued last week regarding recognition of the Palestinian state, and said, “We will not allow them to establish a terrorist state through which they can attack us forcefully. No one will prevent us and Israel from realizing our basic right to self-defense, not the Assembly.” General Assembly of the United Nations or any other body.
He added that Israel is fighting in Rafah, the Zaytoun neighborhood, and Jabalia, claiming that operations are taking place after the expulsion of Palestinian civilians.
Netanyahu was responding to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s criticism regarding Israel’s behavior in the war against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Blinken noted that Israel’s tactics caused “a heavy toll on innocent civilian lives, but failed to neutralize Hamas leaders and fighters, and could lead to a permanent rebellion.” He said that Israel must “get out of Gaza.”
He explained that Hamas has resurfaced in parts of Gaza, and that the “intensive action” carried out by Israeli forces in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip risks leaving America’s closest ally in the Middle East “facing a permanent rebellion.”
Blinken noted that the United States has worked with Arab countries and others for weeks to develop “credible plans for security, governance, and reconstruction” in Gaza, adding, “We did not see that coming from Israel, we need to see that, too.”
He stressed that the Israeli army’s push deep into Rafah may achieve “some initial success” but may cause “terrible harm” to Palestinian civilians.
Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden over how to manage the war, and in an interview last week, Biden said that his administration would not provide weapons that Israel could use to launch a comprehensive attack on Rafah.