Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his country has no plans to establish its own governing body in Gaza after the military campaign against Hamas concludes in the territory.
He said he would like to see Arab states take the lead and assume responsibility for the Palestinian enclave. In an interview on Thursday night, Netanyahu was asked one of the most pressing questions on whether his government was trying to take control of the entire Gaza Strip.
He responded, “We intend to ensure our security. We aim to remove Hamas and enable the population to be free of Hamas and then pass it to a civilian governing body that is at least not Hamas and not anyone who wishes to bring destruction to Israel.”
He went on to say that “Israel has no intentions to keep Gaza under Israeli control but rather has a security perimeter present around the territory.” “We don’t want to be there as a governing body; we want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly,” he added. Israel, since its occupation of Gaza in 1967, before it pulled out in 2005.
Also Read: Gaza war exposes Israel’s internal divisions
Earlier this month, reports from Israeli media indicated that Netanyahu, after meeting his ministers, told them to back a reoccupation plan of Gaza, despite outright objections from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). While both fighting parties to the conflict agreed to a fragile three-stage ceasefire earlier this year, it did not last long, as the Israeli military resumed offensives in mid-March amid recriminations with Hamas.
Since then, the two belligerents have sporadically engaged in talks, which have failed to yield any breakthrough. The conflict between Hamas and Israel broke out in October of 2023 after a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel left about 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage.
As per Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
Also Read: Trump or IDF may be key to ending Gaza war, not UK or France
Follow us
