Attention turns to Gaza, post-war

Benjamin Netanyahu’s “day after” blueprint for post-war Gaza inevitably has drawn flak from the Biden administration and Palestinian leaders. That is not surprising given its omission of any pathway to Palestinian statehood and Washington’s policy aim of handing Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority a governing role in Gaza when the war ends.

Instead, Mr Netanyahu’s draft plan, presented to Israel’s war cabinet, “outright rejects international diktats over a final status agreement with the Palestinians”. Israel “will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state”, it declares. “Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would grant a huge reward to such unprecedented terrorism … and would prevent any future peace agreement.” The plan sets out a basis for what it terms continued Israeli “operational freedom throughout Gaza … without a time limit, for the purpose of preventing the renewal of terrorism and thwarting threats from Gaza”, as well as a buffer zone that would be off-limits to Palestinians along Gaza’s perimeter, plus Israeli control of the Egypt-Gaza border that would seek to seal off the Strip to the south. Local leaders in Gaza, the plan says, will be deployed to administer a “demilitarised, deradicalised” territory from which the controversial UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East will be excluded.

Hamas rejected the plan out of hand, insisting it was a blueprint for full-scale, open-ended Israeli reoccupation of the Strip that formed the basis for Israel’s control of the territory before it withdrew 17 years ago. The PA, which is largely ignored in the draft despite being favoured by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has been similarly dismissive. “Gaza must be part of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” a spokesman for Mr Abbas said. “Any plans to the contrary are destined to fail.” That may be so. The extent to which the plan is at odds with Washington, other Western allies and Arab states that have established relations with Israel underlines the flaws. But in issuing the draft, Israel has embarked on the essential process of mapping out a pathway for Gaza after the war ends. That should be welcomed by all who want to see an end to the war and the suffering of Gaza’s people.

In a television interview on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu spoke of the end of the war being only weeks away. Time should not be lost in drawing up credible plans for what comes next – to ensure the rebuilding of Gaza and provision of the humanitarian aid its people desperately need, as well as administrative structures. Almost five months of warfare have shown the scale of the military challenge facing Israel. Its determination to dominate Gaza in security terms is no surprise given what happened on October 7. Mr Netanyahu’s blueprint at least provides a draft for discussion.