An Israeli document estimated that if Tel Aviv decided to impose military rule on the Gaza Strip after the war, it would cost it at least 20 billion shekels annually ($5.4 billion), in addition to an “unprecedented budget crisis” and the need for “a significant increase.” “Within the reserve forces.
This came in a document prepared by the Israeli security establishment in which the financial consequences of forming a military government in the Gaza Strip were analyzed, and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published some of its details.
According to what the newspaper reported on Friday, the security establishment was recently asked to examine various alternatives for the rule of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, and in a document written a few days ago, the financial consequences of forming a military government in the Strip were analyzed.
According to the document, “The operating cost is estimated at approximately 20 billion shekels annually ($5.4 billion), and the cost of constructing an additional corridor to the Gaza Strip is estimated at approximately 150 million shekels ($40.4 million), and this does not include the cost of current operation.”
Reconstruction
The newspaper continued, “In addition to these numbers, there will be an additional cost for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, from infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and roads, to establishing the infrastructure for the military government, and others,” pointing to the need for 400 jobs to manage the supposed Israeli military rule of the Gaza Strip.
The document stated, “In terms of military strength, there will be a need for 4 offensive divisions and a defensive division, and thus this will require a reduction in the number of battalions in the Northern Command (Lebanon and Syria) and the Central Command (the West Bank), in addition to a significant increase in the scope of the reserve for operational employment.”
The newspaper pointed out that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stubborn refusal to discuss the day after the war and alternatives to Hamas rule creates a situation that pushes Israel to manage life in Gaza.”
She asked, “Does Israel have the ability to return and manage life in the Gaza Strip? Will the country’s economy bear this burden?”
She said, “The meaning that emerges from the document is clear: Israel is not able to bear the burden. The army’s ability to prepare for the possibility of opening a northern front, as well as to prepare to thwart attacks in the West Bank and the rest of the State of Israel, will be damaged.”
She added, “Control of Gaza means an unprecedented budget crisis, which will greatly harm the services provided to the citizen, and will also burden the budget.”
She added, “But Netanyahu does not rule out the formation of an Israeli military government in Gaza. On the contrary, he talks about the army being responsible for security in Gaza, but this means in practice that he may also be required to manage civilian life in the Strip in the absence of an alternative from Hamas or Palestinian Authority”.
In response to what was reported by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “Complete Israeli military control over Gaza is what will guarantee victory and security for the residents of the Gaza Strip and for Israel.”
Human bubbles
On the other hand, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported that part of the details of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s plan for what he calls “the day after the war in Gaza” includes a proposal to concentrate the population of Gaza in humanitarian bubbles, in which a civil body would be established from the local population to administer the civil system in the Strip. .
The plan also includes – according to the newspaper – Israel’s agreement to arm local officials with small weapons, to protect them from members of the Hamas movement, provided that these weapons are under technological supervision from Israel, to prevent them from reaching the movement.
Arming – according to the plan – will be under international supervision, with the contribution of moderate Arab countries, and with the support of the United States.
The “day after” the war
It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said last Wednesday, “No (Palestinian) party will accept taking over the civil administration of Gaza for fear of its safety until everyone is certain that Hamas no longer has military control over Gaza.”
He added, “Therefore, talk about the next day (of the war), as long as Hamas remains as it is, will be nothing more than empty talk. Contrary to what has been claimed, we have been making various attempts for several months to find a solution to this complex problem.”
Defense Minister Yoav Galant responded – in a press statement on the same day – “I repeat, I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military rule in Gaza, and Israel is not permitted to establish civilian rule in Gaza.”
He added, “I call on Netanyahu to make a decision and announce that Israel will not impose civilian control over the Gaza Strip, will not establish military rule in the Strip, and that an alternative to Hamas rule will be immediately presented.”
On the other hand, the Hamas movement said – through the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh – that “the day after the war will be decided by the Hamas movement along with the rest of the Palestinian factions.”