Three months into the war and the cabinet discussions continue on the control of Gaza the day after the fighting. As far as Israel is concerned, Hamas will no longer control the Gaza Strip and will not pose any security threat to the citizens of Israel. However, the security forces will maintain the freedom of military action in the Strip and there will be no restrictions on the use of military force.
However, until Israel ends the war there are several steps to serve its goals. In the north of the Gaza Strip, the IDF will switch to a new fighting method that includes raids, air and ground attacks, and special operations. In the south of the territory, the efforts are focused on eliminating the Hamas leadership and freeing hostages, this is a cross-phase effort and it will continue as long as necessary.
The goal at this stage is to erode the remaining pockets of resistance in the area and at the same time enable the promotion of a different governing alternative that is not hostile to Israel.
The aforementioned fighting will continue until the achievement of the three goals defined by the political and security cabinet, the return of the abductees, the destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and the removal of any military threat from the Gaza Strip.
But at the same time as the fighting continues, the discussions about the future of the Gaza Strip the day after the war proceed all the time. Much was said about the principles and interests of Israel, different opinions were heard among the members of the cabinet. However, in Israel they want to remove from them the civil responsibility from the Strip without any Israeli-civilian presence. After achieving the goals of the war, Hamas will no longer control Gaza and, as mentioned, Israel will not have civilian control of the territory.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians live, some of them were exiled to the south of the territory during the three months of the war, therefore those who will be responsible for them are Palestinian elements and on the condition that they will not be hostile to the State of Israel and will not be able to act against it.
The four vertices of the "civil square"
In the discussions held in the security establishment, a position was formed called "the four vertices of the 'civil square'", Israel, Egypt, a multinational task force and the Palestinians. Israel will be the one to provide information in order to direct the civil actions of the multinational force and due to the security need it will also carry out an inspection of all goods entering the Gaza Strip.
In terms of the entrance gates to Gaza, Egypt will be the main civilian terminal for the Strip. In Israel, there is a constant dialogue with the Egyptians about interim solutions as well as a permanent solution for another government in the Strip, but Egypt, as far as Israel is concerned, will be a major player in any solution.
Also, a joint operation of Israel and Egypt will be carried out in cooperation with the USA in order to ensure effective isolation of the border between Gaza and Egypt by technological and physical means and joint control over the entry of goods.
A multinational task force for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip
Another task of the day after is the rehabilitation of the strip. The move will be carried out by a multinational task force led by the US and in partnership with Western European countries and moderate Arab countries. The coalition of these countries will take responsibility for the economic and physical aspect and will be the main address for international parties interested in helping to restore the Strip.
As mentioned earlier, the party that will be responsible for controlling the Strip will be Palestinians who will not show hostility towards Israel and they will be based on the capabilities of the administrative mechanism that already exists in the Strip. Within the framework of Palestinian control, there will be local committees that will be based on Gazan elements, whom Israel will approve to the multinational force as responsible elements in the civil space and who are not hostile to Israel.
Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, and therefore control over it will be by Palestinians and on the condition that they are not hostile to the State of Israel and cannot act against it. As for the question of who will enforce the order in the Gaza Strip, no decision has yet been made in Israel and discussions are still ongoing.
