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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a plan to his right-wing cabinet that said reconstruction in the devastated Gaza Strip should not commence until full demilitarisation is achieved, according to an official document seen by The National.
The two-page document, titled The Day After Hamas, shows the Israeli Prime Minister’s stringent vision for Gaza's future, including a series of challenging preconditions for the territory's rehabilitation after months of relentless bombing.
Central to these is the disarmament of the militant group Hamas and other factions, a goal that presents a complex and potential obstacle to the reconstruction efforts.
Mr Netanyahu's plan also calls for the closure of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, commonly known as UNRWA, the establishment of a security zone along Gaza's border, and sustained military autonomy over the long term.
“Rehabilitation of the strip will be possible only after the completion of demilitarisation and the beginning of the de-radicalisation process,” said the document.
“The rehabilitation programme will be carried out with funding and leadership by countries accepted by Israel,” it added.
The war in the coastal enclave is in its fifth month.
To date, Israeli military bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 29,500 Palestinians, displaced about 85 per cent of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents and laid to waste large portions of built-up areas in the strip.
Heavily tainted
Mr Netanyahu’s political legacy has been heavily tainted by the security failures during the unprecedented Hamas attacks on October 7 and he is facing calls for his resignation.
Despite his army's inability to destroy Hamas's capabilities so far during this current war, he promised in his vision “complete demilitarisation in the Gaza Strip from any military capability, beyond what is necessary for maintaining public order”.
He added that Israel “will maintain operational freedom of action throughout the Gaza Strip, without time limitation”, emphasising also that “the security zone established in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel will exist as long as there is a security need for it”.
Israel will establish a “Southern Closure” on the Gaza-Egypt border “to prevent the renewed empowerment of terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip”, according to the document.
Arab diplomats have said that the future government of Gaza should be discussed only after the Israeli war ends.
But Mr Netanyahu’s vision states that the civil administration and responsibility for public order “will be based on local elements with management experience”.
It stated that a “comprehensive de-radicalisation programme will be promoted in all religious, educational, and welfare institutions in the Gaza Strip, as much as possible with the involvement and assistance of Arab countries”.
In addition to that, Israel “will act to close UNRWA” and replace it with “other responsible international aid agencies”.
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Displaced Palestinians hold a white flag as they pass an Israeli tank position while fleeing the Hamad Town district of Khan Younis. Bloomberg -
A Palestinian woman cuts material to be used for sewing nappies at a workshop in Rafah. AFP -
Smoke rises following an explosion in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel. AP -
Parachutes carrying relief for Palestinians drop from an Egyptian Air Force cargo plane over central Gaza. Bloomberg -
A Palestinian boy who is suffering from malnutrition is treated at a healthcare centre amid widespread hunger. Reuters -
Palestinian children attend an English class in the library of the school housing displaced people in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
An UNRWA-run school housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah. AFP -
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Rafah. AP -
A wounded Palestinian man who lost his wife and daughter walks past a neighbours' house destroyed by Israeli bombing in Rafah. AFP -
An injured man is rescued from the rubble after an Israeli air strike on the Rafah camp in Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of houses destroyed by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza city. AFP -
Aid is dropped into Gaza from US military aircraft. Reuters -
Palestinians gather at air lorries in Gaza. More than 100 were killed when Israeli troops opened fire. AP -
The sun sets behind destroyed buildings in Gaza. AFP -
A Palestinian man enters a heavily damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
A wounded Palestinian is assisted at the site of an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Palestinians gather in the hope of getting bags of flour carried by air lorries near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza city, as the enclave's residents face crisis levels of hunger. Reuters -
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues in Gaza. Reuters -
A displaced Palestinian child holds a crying baby in a camp in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters
Israel alleged that 12 of the agency's 13,000 Gaza staff took part in the October 7 attacks. More than 16 countries suspended aid to UNRWA because of the allegations.
“This document is a prescription for an endless war, a hideous occupation, and Israel’s ultimate control of the Gaza Strip,” a Palestinian diplomat told The National.
“More importantly, this document is a spit in the face of the international community.”
In his vision, the Israeli PM vowed to “oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state”, saying that “such recognition in the aftermath of the massacre on October 7 would grant an unprecedented reward to terror”.
