Israel approves plan to reoccupy Gaza and expel its population to the south

BarcelonaThe Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip with the goal of maintaining "the occupation of the territory and a sustained presence" in the Palestinian territory. The security cabinet has also planned a mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid to the population through foreign companies, bypassing the Palestinian administration. This afternoon, the prime minister announced an "energetic operation" as if it were a recommendation from the military leadership: "It is advice from the chief of staff to destroy Hamas. He believes this will help us rescue the hostages, and I agree." After nineteen months of indiscriminate massacres, Netanyahu said in a video on X that the population of Gaza "will be relocated for their protection," and that the territory that is conquered "will not be handed back": "We are not going in and out, that is not the goal." In the message, he says he wants to address the Israeli population directly "without the filter of the media." There is an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza war, issued by the International Criminal Court last November.

According to an official source in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu continues to pursue his plan to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population., with negotiations with several countries to offer to take over the population of the Strip. The same source assures that this plan is different from previous ones because it is not based on military offensives, but rather sets the goal of occupying the Palestinian territory, from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has openly stated that the Israelis must accept the Palestinians' word. occupation, because the "conquered" areas of Gaza will not be returned, not even in exchange for hostages. "We will finally occupy the Gaza Strip and we will no longer fear the word occupation", he said in a meeting with journalists. But the Israeli authorities have said that the plan will not be implemented before the visit of the American president Donald Trump to the region, planned for within ten days, according to an official source who has informed the same newspaper, who has spoken of the establishment of a "sterile zone" to the south of this to be inspected. Trump must visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, three of the allies of the United States in the region

The same newspaper points out that the first phase of the plan consists of the occupation of more areas of Gaza and the expansion of the so-called buffer zone or pillow around the border, with the aim of exerting greater military pressure on Hamas. Tens of thousands of reservists will be deployed, without specifying how long they should be mobilized to make possible the expansion of operations in Gaza. Most will be sent to the West Bank so that professional units can be assigned to combat operations in Gaza.

Israel has long been talking about annihilating the Palestinian administration and placing humanitarian aid in the hands of foreign military companies like those operating in Iraq. Previously, Tel Aviv had considered having Israeli soldiers carry out this task, but the high command ruled it out because it was too dangerous. In any case, the Minister of the Interior, the far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressed opposition to the distribution of any kind of aid to the civilian population, after Two months ago, Israel blocked all entry of goods into the Strip., which is something that has worsened the humanitarian crisis"I don't know why we should give them anything. We should bomb Hamas's food supplies," he said. When military commanders reminded him that Israel has an obligation to do so, Netanyahu retorted to the chief of staff that ministers "have the right to express a point of view different from that of the military commanders."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that the plan "contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles," and noted that "it is dangerous to drive civilians into militarized zones to collect aid rations." Israel has been preventing the entry of medicine, food, and water into Gaza for nine weeks, pushing the population to the brink. According to the agency, the plan will mean that "a large part of the population, including the most vulnerable, will remain without supplies." The UN has also made it clear that it will not participate in the plan.

No investigation

The ministers also agreed to avoid the creation of a national investigative committee to study Israeli security failures in the Palestinian attack of October 7, 2023, a decision the attorney general considered "harmful and hindering the search for the truth." During these nineteen months of war, Netanyahu has circumvented the creation of the commission of inquiry, which could end his political career if it is proven that his government ignored warnings from the military and intelligence services.