Military plan to be activated: Occupation of Gaza by Israel set to move forward

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Akram Chehayeb

Israeli military and security institutions have failed to convince the political establishment to reverse the decision to occupy Gaza, as the army submitted to the demand to prepare a military plan and present it to the Cabinet within a few days.

According to the Cabinet's demands, the plan faces two main challenges: ensuring the lives of living hostages and minimizing Israel's international standing.

However, the Israeli army acknowledges that these demands cannot be fulfilled.

The first phase of the plan includes recruiting at least 250,000 soldiers out of a total of 450,000. This is the first aspect that the army has not yet been able to implement.

Next is to train and prepare the army to carry out large-scale military operations focused on Gaza City and the central camps, with the aim of closing access and supply routes, cutting off the city from its surroundings, and weakening Hamas forces from within.

Another integral part of the plan is the establishment of protected humanitarian zones for the civilian population, in which 12 centralized food stations will be set up to distribute aid under Israeli supervision.

At the same time, while there has been no breakthrough in the prisoner deal and no Israeli vision for the day after the war, behind-the-scenes moves are underway to appoint a Palestinian Authority governor of the Gaza Strip, Samir Hulileh, the former Secretary-General of the Palestinian government, who has expressed his agreement to the initiative. 

These moves are led by an Israeli-Canadian named Ari Ben-Menashe, who is registered in America as a "lobbyist" and aims to make the appointment under the auspices of the Arab League acceptable to Israel and the United States, and ultimately allow for a "day after" the war in terms of controlling Gaza.

The plan includes the deployment of American and Arab troops in the Gaza Strip, recognition by the United Nations of the Strip's special status, leasing land from Egypt for an airport and seaport in Sinai, and obtaining rights to drill for gas off the coast of Gaza, among other things.

Hulileh was quoted as saying that the first necessary step is for the parties to commit to a permanent ceasefire and end the war.