NSC Director Hanegbi Does Not Rule Out PA Involvement in Gaza After War

National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi published an article in the London-based Saudi daily Elaph, outlining a proposal for the day after Israel defeats Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to Kann 11 News reporter Roi Kais.

Per Kais, the article outlines three main points:

1. The goal is to ensure both Israelis and Gazans cease to fear from terror or violence and look to the future with hope.

2. Regional and international forces will need to work side by side with moderate forces within Palestinian society.

3. Israel wants security assurances in Gaza and has no interest in civilian control of the Strip. While agnostic on who should govern it, Hanegbi stated that the Palestinian Authority would have to undergo a "fundamental transformation" and teach its citizens to be moderate and tolerant rather than seeking to engage in terrorism and violence.

The article comes as Saudi Arabia insists that the Palestinian Authority is the only alternative to Hamas in the Strip, and may be meant as a message to a country Israel still seeks to deepen ties with.

Hanegbi's article has encountered fierce criticism from within the coalition, including Religious Zionism MK Tzvi Sukkot who said Hanegbi has no mandate to publish plans in Israel's name, as well as Religious Zionism party chair and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who posted on X/Twitter that "this position does not represent the government of Israel, and the Prime Minister needs to call him to account."