Looking ahead: Israel has advanced its preparations for the "day after" the overthrow of the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, although it is believed that it will take more time for this goal to be achieved. Israel Hayom has learned that two teams have been established in the NSC and the Foreign Ministry that are now working separately to examine advantages and disadvantages of different governmental alternatives that will manage Gaza when the war ends. The common principle of all the alternatives is that Hamas will no longer control Gaza.
The escalation in political activity followed explicit statements by US President Biden and other Western leaders that they expect the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza after the end of the war.
Israel still wants to avoid dealing with the political issue. A senior Israeli source told Israel Hayom: "In the small cabinet and the enlarged cabinet, there is full agreement on the political goal of the operation, which is to topple the Hamas regime. However, dealing with the political outline the day after is liable to cause internal disputes within Israel and between Israel and international actors, which will harm the achievement of the war's goals. Therefore, the goal is to avoid, as much as possible, entering the volatile field. We have to act wisely here."
Documentation: The assassination of the commander of the Beit Lahiya Battalion in Hamas' northern brigade, Nissim Abu Ajina | IDF Spokesperson
At the same time, with the understanding that ignoring the political issue could present Israel with fait accompli the day after, these two teams began to act. At the same time, Israel Hayom learned that even in his many conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Biden devotes quite a bit of time to political solutions the day after. Against this background as well, it was decided to begin examining alternatives. To keep a low profile, there is still no inter-ministerial discussion and each team operates separately.
Cabinet ministers have diverse ideas, some creative, about who will rule the Gaza Strip after Hamas. Some of the options are an international regime in various forms, combined Egyptian-Israeli control, and more. One of the proposals discussed was to impose Muhammad Dahlan on the Gaza Strip, but he expressed opposition to the idea in media interviews.
Paying terrorists today, and expected to pay the perpetrators of the massacre in the envelope as well. Mahmoud Abbas, photo: Reuters
As for the proposal to return the PA to Gaza, it is vigorously opposed by most cabinet ministers, including Minister Gideon Sa'ar of New Hope. On the other hand, since Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot do believe in strengthening the PA, it seems that this idea is controversial – but as stated, at this stage the cabinet agrees that unity must be preserved, and therefore its members refrain from discussing the issue in real terms.
The senior Israeli official added that despite the increased involvement in the political sphere and despite yesterday's impressive achievement in releasing the soldier, Uri Magidish, "there is still a long way to go." "We have gone through maybe ten percent of the road required to achieve the goal of toppling Hamas. It takes patience, unity and patience to reach our goals."
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