During a heated 10-hour cabinet meeting on Thursday, several security chiefs in Israel rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Saturday.
The newspaper said the objections were made by Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and several senior security officials, including National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi, Mossad chief David Barnea and Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, a key negotiator in the hostage recovery efforts.
The officials argued for “safer and more suitable alternatives.” They also cautioned that the move would “greatly endanger” Israeli captives in Gaza and harm prospects for a deal with Hamas. When Netanyahu was not convinced, the government voted on a plan to gradually take control of Gaza City in the first place, while moving on later to other phases, and to provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside combat zones.
At the meeting, Hanegbi said: “I don’t understand how someone who has watched the videos of Evyatar and Rom, and all those released before them, can support the statement 'all or nothing.' That means giving up the chance to rescue at least 10 hostages immediately, because Hamas won’t respond to that demand.”
Hanegbi backed Zamir, who expressed his firm opposition to Netanyahu’s proposal. “I fully agree with the chief of staff that taking control of Gaza City jeopardizes the lives of the hostages, which is why I oppose the prime minister's proposal,” he said.
Despite the objection of senior security officials, Yedioth Ahronoth said the Security Cabinet voted early Friday to approve the plan for a full takeover of Gaza City.
Germany, the UK, Australia and other countries have rejected the decision of the Israeli security cabinet to launch an additional large-scale military operation in Gaza.
The newspaper said that the German government decision to not approve any exports to Israel of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, marks a significant shift for one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Europe.
Security sources told the Yedioth Ahronoth news site that the Israeli cabinet did not use the word “occupy,” and instead referred to “taking over,” due to legal reasons pertaining to Israel’s responsibility for civilian matters in Gaza.
Families of hostages held in Gaza called for a general strike on Saturday and urged the public to join their effort to save their loved ones and bring them back home.
The families said the government has given up on the hostages.
In a related development, the Palestinian presidency condemned Netanyahu's announcement that Israel intends to seize full control of Gaza.
Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that Israel's policies, including the reoccupation of Gaza, attempts to annex the West Bank, and the Judaization of Jerusalem, will close all doors to achieving security and stability both regionally and globally.
He denounced Israel's rejection of international criticism and warnings from world powers regarding the escalation of war against the Palestinian people, describing such actions as an unprecedented challenge and provocation to the international will to achieve peace and stability in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law, embodied in the New York Declaration and successive recognitions of the State of Palestine.
“The Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine, just like Jerusalem and the West Bank. Without it, there will be no Palestinian state,” the spokesperson said.
He further called on the international community, led by the UN Security Council, to urgently compel the occupying state to cease its aggression, allow the entry of aid, and work diligently to enable the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Rudeineh also called on the US administration to assume its responsibilities by preventing Israel from expanding the war and halting colonist terrorism in the West Bank, in order to achieve security and stability in the region.
