WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A long-awaited postwar plan by Israel’s prime minister shows that his government seeks openended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. That was swiftly rejected Friday by Palestinian leaders and runs counter to Washington’s vision for the war-ravaged enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the two-page document to his security Cabinet late Thursday for approval.
Deep disagreements over Gaza’s future have led to increasingly public fric- tion between Israel and the United States, its clos- est ally. The Biden adminis- tration seeks eventual Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood, an outcome vehemently opposed by Netanyahu and his right-wing government. Netanyahu’s plan envisions hand-picked Palestinians in Gaza administering the territory.
Separately, cease-fire efforts appeared to gain traction, with mediators to present a new proposal at an expected high-level meeting this weekend in Paris. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have
been struggling for weeks to find a formula that could halt Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, but now face an unofficial deadline as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes in the center and south of the territory killed at least 68 Palestinians, includ- ing children and women, overnight and into Fri- day, health officials and an Associated Press jour- nalist said. Another 24 bod- ies remained trapped under the rubble.
Fidaa Ashour, whose sis- ter was killed in a strike early Friday in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, said “the world does not feel what we are enduring.” At a hospital in the central town of Deir al-balah, rela- tives wept over bodies laid out in burial shrouds in the courtyard, and a man cra- dled a dead infant.
The overall Palestinian death toll since the start of the war rose to more than 29,500, with close to 70,000 people wounded, Gaza health officials said. The death toll amounts to close to 1.3% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.
Netanyahu’s vision
Netanyahu’s plan, while lacking specifics, marks the first time he has presented a formal postwar vision. It reiterates that Israel is determined to crush Hamas, the militant group that overran the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Polls have indicated that a majority of Palestinians don’t support Hamas, but the group has deep roots in Palestinian society. Critics, including some in Israel, say the goal of eliminating Hamas is unattainable.
Netanyahu’s plan calls for freedom of action for Israel’s military across a demilitarized Gaza after the war to thwart any security threat. It says Israel would establish a buffer zone inside Gaza, which is likely to provoke U.S. objections.
The plan also envisions Gaza being governed by local officials who it says would “not be identified with countries or entities that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them.” It’s not clear if any Palestinians would agree to such roles. Over the past decades, Israel has repeatedly tried and failed to set up hand-picked local Palestinian governing bodies.