The head of Israeli diplomacy Yair Lapid presented this Sunday a project aimed at "
improving
" the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a commitment to "
calm
" the Hamas movement in power in this impoverished enclave.
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“
For too long, the only two options were conquer Gaza or endless violence. But these are two bad options,
”said Yair Lapid, presenting his initiative called“
Economy in exchange for security
”at a conference on security in Jerusalem. More concretely, he proposes a two-step plan, without however going through negotiations with Hamas, a movement considered "
terrorist
" by Israel.
In a first phase, "
the power lines would be repaired, the gas connected and a water desalination plant built
" in Gaza, a territory under Israeli blockade for more than 15 years which has an average of 12 hours of electricity per day and little drinking water.
In exchange, the Islamists of Hamas will have to commit to a “
long-lasting calm
”, added Yair Lapid, specifying that in the event of violence, Israel's response will be “
stronger than in the past
”.
"
Act now
"
In a second step, a port and a "
road link
" between Gaza and the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, and a new industrial zone would notably be built, he continued.
The West Bank, home of the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, is separated from Gaza by Israeli territory.
This plan, which has yet to be adopted by the government, does not aim to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but to "
act now
" to "
improve
" the living conditions of the Palestinians and "
create better conditions for future talks.
», He affirmed.
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Despite several truces between Hamas and Israel, rockets are fired episodically from Gaza into Israeli territory, prompting retaliatory raids by the Israeli army on targets in the enclave. Moreover, shortly after the announcement of the Lapid plan, a rocket was fired from Gaza towards southern Israel but it was intercepted by the anti-missile shield.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since 2008. Four months after the last war in May, reconstruction in the enclave has still not really started despite commitments from various donors. The Israeli plan "
cannot be achieved without the commitment of our Egyptian partners
", argued Yair Lapid, and will require financial support, particularly from the United States, the European Union and "
Gulf countries, starting with the United Arab Emirates
”.