Eisenkot Presents New Plan for 'Day after Hamas'

A child stands in front of the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli raids on the Maghazi camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday (AP)
A child stands in front of the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli raids on the Maghazi camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday (AP)
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Eisenkot Presents New Plan for 'Day after Hamas'

A child stands in front of the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli raids on the Maghazi camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday (AP)
A child stands in front of the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli raids on the Maghazi camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday (AP)

Member of the Israeli War Command Council Gadi Eisenkot has put forward a plan for the next day after the Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, to be an alternative to the strategy proposed last month by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was met with wide rejection by the Palestinians, the United States, and the international community.

Eisenkot’s plan came in parallel with attempts by the right-wing Israeli government to implement a policy aimed at expanding the occupation and settlements, and imposing a new fait accompli on Gaza that hinders a political solution to the conflict.

Although details of the Eisenkot plan fall within the framework of internal Israeli negotiations about the fate of the Palestinians, they present temporary solutions aimed at stopping the deterioration taking place in the Palestinian areas due to the actions of the government and settlers.

However, his proposals exclude Palestinian ambitions to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state. He proposes postponing the implementation of the permanent solution for five years, during which Israel will test the Palestinian leadership’s commitment to what he called “the fight against terrorism and incitement against Israel.” The Israeli security services will be in control of security from the sea to the river, while the process of destroying Hamas’ military capabilities will continue.

The Eisenkot document was prepared with the participation of a senior strategic security team from the Mind Israel Institute, headed by Amos Yadlin, former head of the Military Intelligence Division.

The plan proposed near term goals, which include seeking to dismantle Hamas, by maintaining operations to undermine the group’s military capabilities and its ability to govern, for the purpose of creating pressure that will lead to concluding a deal for the release of the kidnapped and preventing the threat to Israel from the Gaza Strip in the long term.

Moreover, Eisenkot called for forging an American-Israeli-Arab alliance and transferring the management of civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip to a local Palestinian component, with international and regional monitoring in coordination with Israel.

Other short-term objectives include ending the confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon in a way that ensures the safe return of evacuated citizens, strengthening relations with countries seeking peace, advancing ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Islamic countries and preparing to confront all threats coming from Iran, with a focus on its nuclear program and activity in the region.

In the medium term, Eisenkot’s plan seeks to maintain Israel’s freedom of operation and security responsibilities in the Gaza Strip to prevent the growth of a terrorist base.

It also calls for complete disarmament in the Gaza Strip, which is implemented by Israel by reducing the enemy's capabilities, adhering to its growing security responsibility, and building a local disarmament system under the supervision of the United States. A military force is established for the sole purpose of ensuring the rule of law.

According to the proposed plan, the civil-economic affairs of the people of Gaza are managed by a technocratic Palestinian entity, subject to the supervision of a group of the Five Arab Countries, the United States, and the international community.

Other medium-term goals include ending UNRWA’s mission and gradually transferring its responsibility for schools to the entity that manages the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, in parallel with handing over the agency's services to other international bodies.

In the long term, the plan proposes settlement between Israel and the Palestinians through direct negotiations between the two parties, which will be implemented after five years, during which the Palestinians’ ability to adhere to comprehensive reforms, disarmament, and rebuilding the Gaza Strip will be tested, based on international and regional monitoring.

No Israeli commitment will be given in the next five years to establish a Palestinian state, as something like this will be understood as a gift to Hamas, according to Eisenkot.



Israel Keeps Up Gaza Bombardment as Ceasefire Talks Intensify

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
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Israel Keeps Up Gaza Bombardment as Ceasefire Talks Intensify

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

US and Arab mediators are working round-the-clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 13 Palestinians on Thursday.
The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, seek to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Reuters said.
Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points but differences remained, the sources said.
In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed overnight in separate Israeli airstrikes, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp.
Residents of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has operated since October, said forces blew up clusters of houses overnight.
"The longer those talks last, the more destruction and death takes place in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya are being wiped out, Rafah too," said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia, who is now displaced in Gaza City.
Palestinians accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing in those areas by depopulating residents to create buffer zones. Israel denies this and says its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas, a militant group, and to prevent it from regrouping.
Israel accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield for its activities. Hamas denies it and accuses Israel of trying to justify the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians.
PHASED OR COMPREHENSIVE?
Sources close to the mediation efforts said Hamas had pushed for a one-package deal but Israel wanted a phased one. Talks are focused on a first-phase release of hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
On Tuesday, the sides discussed the numbers and categories of those to be released, but things have yet to be finalized, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The source said one issue was Israel's demand to retain the right to act against any possible military threat from Gaza and the stationing of Israeli forces during phases of the deal.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas in the enclave.
Israel launched its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.
Israel's foreign ministry accused the rights group of lying, writing on X that Israel had facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza since the start of the war despite constant attacks by Hamas.