The defense establishment is preparing to present to the cabinet ministers on Thursday evening their plan for the "day after" in the Gaza Strip, which includes Israeli military control, an international task force headed by the United States to deal with the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, a civilian local government that relies on government officials in Gaza, and cooperation with Egypt regarding the civilian passage for the entry of goods.
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Only one question remains open, and it may be the most critical of all: Who will receive the authority to order the Strip? In other words, who will be the armed force with Israel's approval that will patrol the streets that will be repopulated, and how will Israel ensure that the weapons are not directed at the Israeli residents?
Full military freedom of action
At the end of the work done at the Ministry of Defense, Minister Yoav Galant will present the plan to the cabinet, which includes the following principles: Israel will maintain full military freedom of action and there will be no restrictions on the use of force to ensure that no hostile military force is established and Hamas no longer controls.
Gazans evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip, Photo: AP
It will also be proposed that there will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after achieving the objectives of the fighting. In addition, it was determined that Israel would retain the right to inspect any merchandise entering the Gaza Strip.
The proposal also calls for the rehabilitation of an international force led by the United States, alongside France, Britain and Germany, along with moderate Arab states. In addition, a multinational force will be stationed in Egypt.
No Israeli civilian presence
The third side of this regime, as noted, will be Egypt, which will hold the civilian entrance bridge to Gaza. In addition, Israel will maintain the enlarged crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and above- and underground security measures (anti-tunnels) will be established.
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As revealed in Israel Hayom, the goal will be to give civilian rule to Palestinian elements, and it will be based on the administrative apparatus that controls Gaza today, that is, the apparatus affiliated with Hamas.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the day after "Hamas will not control the Gaza Strip and will not reflect a security threat to Israeli citizens," and that "Israel will preserve the freedom of military action in the Gaza Strip and there will be no restrictions on the use of military force."
Galant added: "Israel will not be civilianly responsible for Gaza, and there will be no Israeli civilian presence in Gaza after achieving the goals of the war. There are Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and therefore those who will be responsible are Palestinian elements, provided they are not hostile to the State of Israel and cannot act against it."
Gazans who turned themselves in to Israel, photo: use under section 27A of the Copyright Law
The defense minister told reporters that the fighting would continue until the war goals were achieved. "The return of the abductees and the denial of Hamas' capabilities and the removal of any military threat from the Gaza Strip."
New combat method
"In the northern Gaza Strip, in accordance with the military achievements on the ground, we will switch to a new method of warfare: raids, destruction of tunnels and attacks from the air and from the ground," he said. In the southern Gaza Strip, there is a deliberate operational effort to eliminate the Hamas leadership and release the hostages, and it will continue as long as necessary."
A fuel truck enters the Gaza Strip at the Rafah crossing, photo: AFP
Galant said that the objective of the fighting at this stage was "to erode the pockets of resistance and at the same time allow the promotion of a governmental alternative that is not hostile to Israel."
Although the combat operations have not ended, Israel is holding discussions the day after in order to create a political horizon for military action.
In the meantime, Israel's defense establishment supports the construction of defensive walls near the Gaza Strip, since it will take time to eradicate terrorist threats from the Gaza Strip. The possibility of firing an anti-tank missile still exists, even if not in the hands of an organized Hamas system, but rather individual elements.
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