Jerusalem: An anticipated postwar plan by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows that his government seeks open-ended control over security in the Gaza Strip. This was swiftly rejected on February 23 by the Palestinian authority and is counter to United States’s vision for the Gaza strip.
Deep political disagreements over Gaza’s future have led to increasingly political and diplomatic friction between the jewish state and the US, its closest ally. The Biden administration envisions eventual Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood, but this outcome is opposed by Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. Netanyahu’s plan envisions hand-picked Palestinians in Gaza to administer the territory, essentially under Netanyahu’s rule.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the security cabinet with a document of principles regarding the management of Gaza after the war on Thursday night, which aims to install “local officials” unaffiliated with terrorism to administer services in the Strip instead of the terrorist group Hamas.
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 Palestinian Authority, which administers pockets of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Friday rejected Netanyahu’s plan as “colonialist and racist,” claiming it would only amount to Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but maintained control of access to the territory.
What is causing the political tension in United States and Israel ?
The Biden administration seeks a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern both Gaza and the West Bank as a step toward Palestinian statehood. It has sought to move away from Netanyahu’s resistance by holding out the prospect of the normalisation of ties between The state and Arab powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which demands a Palestinian state as a precondition.This helps the US by regained regional stability with free movement of container ships from the middle east to the USA.
U.S., Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials are expected to meet in Paris this weekend to discuss cease-fire efforts. A senior Egyptian official said Egypt and Qatar would bring an understanding with Hamas leaders that calls for a six-week cease-fire and the release of elderly and sick hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners in the host country.
Implications of the post war visions of USA and Israel on the civilians of Gaza
The implications will be finally a moment of peace in Palestine, easing trade restrictions in the area providing the estimated half million starving children in the Gaza strip and this could prove a positive for the children living there. However, if the situation viewed from a different perspective, the United States plan for Israel would mean that Palestine would finally gain sovereignty of the heavily contested area, proving an era of self rule for the Palestinians, However without the cooperation of USA, Netanyahu, Palestinian authorities and Hamas to an extent this vision of peace in the region will not be possible.
