by Zev Kam, public news commentator and reporter, translated by Hillel Fendel.
Here's a peek inside the recent Israeli Government cabinet meeting where the ministers discussed their options regarding Gaza. One thing is clear: Much is still unclear, even to the ministers.
There are those who believe in the model called “New Gaza.” That is to say, the broken area known as the Gaza Strip should be cleared of its ruins and rebuilt anew as a modern, flourishing, blooming district. The U.S. Administration is fully in, raising massive funding from the Gulf states and forming a coalition to supervise the reconstruction and help police the area. Everything is carefully outlined, down to the smallest details – but the Americans seem to have forgotten one very small point: the people involved. This particular component of the plan is filled with hatred of Jews and of the West in general. It's nice to plan buildings and sidewalks and the like, but if the people who are to populate these are Gazans, it's a lost cause.
Still and all, there was one Cabinet minister at the recent Israeli Government meeting on this topic who seems to have been infected with the Americans' enthusiasm for the project: American-born and raised Ron Dermer, Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs. This is a position from which he has just resigned as these lines are being written, for family reasons. He is a close confidante of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and plays a major role in Israel–U.S. relations and diplomatic policy. While the other ministers at the meeting raised important question marks and deep fears regarding what the Americans are planning for us in Gaza, Minister Dermer seems to think it's the greatest thing since apple pie.
Hamas Stalling All the Way
Let's begin with one party that certainly has no intention of cooperating with the plan to rebuild Gaza Hamas-free, and that is of course, Hamas. Hostages Administration chief Gal Hirsch said that every one of the remaining hostage corpses – currently four, down from 13 when Hirsch was speaking – is accessible to Hamas, "and they can return them, if they want." He showed how Hamas is able to reach, within a very short time, each and every single remaining corpse.
For instance, four of the corpses that were recently released were all held in the same place, and yet still, Hamas returned them in drips and drabs: first two, then one, then another one. This means, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Tamir Yed'i explained, "Hamas intentionally wasted time in returning the corpses." This was motivated of course, by the desire to torment Israeli families and the entire public, but not exclusively. Hamas also has an interest in dragging out this interim period so that it can liquidate more of its enemies and fortify its grasp on the 48% of Gaza it still controls.
Essentially, Hamas' objective is to take the exact opposite approach from the Trump Plan. Clear and detailed proofs of this have been shared with the Americans. Israel, for its part, is "punishing" Hamas by holding up three things that Hamas wants: the opening of the Rafah Crossing, the entry of dual-use items into Gaza [items that can be used both for civilian and military purposes] and the entry of fuel for a power station. In truth, of course, these are rather minimalist sanctions.
And this returns us to Minister Dermer, who said, "If in fact New Gaza is built, that means the end of the Hamas regime, to be replaced by something entirely different, without the Palestinian Authority. Different people will run it."
Who are these "different people"? Dermer did not answer. He did say, however, that "if Hamas does not disarm, or if the foreign forces do not disarm Hamas, we'll do it ourselves – and the Americans know this. We are taking Gaza from the PA and from Hamas, and building up something else, for the residents of Gaza." The other ministers were not encouraged by these remarks, and in fact had strong questions/objections.
For instance, one question was, "Where exactly will the multi-national force operate? In the Israeli-controlled area of Gaza, to the east of the new Yellow Line, or on the Hamas side?" Most astonishingly, no clear answer to this basic question was provided, even though several attempts were made. Dermer himself said something that caused a storm:
"It could be that the rehabilitation part will occur on our side. That is, if something nice is built on the Hamas side, little by little we'll move the Gazans who are not involved in terrorism to live in New Gaza, on the Israeli side."
What?! The ministers could not digest the possibility that not only would the Gazans remain in Gaza, but that those who are "sweet and cultured" would actually live practically adjacent to Kerem Shalom, Nir Oz, and Sderot! At least now there is a buffer zone separating them, thanks to the IDF’s presence in half of Gaza. "It absolutely can't be," complained Minister Ze'ev Elkin, "that we will finish this entire event with Hamas in the west and these new [Arab] forces in the east, practically atop our communities."
Netanyahu Insists: Hamas Will Disarm
At this point, Netanyahu intervened and said that from his standpoint, the international forces must replace Hamas in all areas, and that it all must happen on the Hamas side of the Yellow Line. "And in any event," he continued, "Turks, Egyptians, and Qataris will not be there." He continued to try to allay fears by saying that the rehabilitation of Gaza is dependent upon Hamas disarming, which will happen only on their side. Ministers Gamliel and Elkin were not comforted, and Minister Smotrich said, "We have missed a great opportunity. We could have ruled in Gaza the way we rule in Judea and Samaria – after all, in the end, it's our land."
Ambassador Votes Confidence in Bibi
One of the participants was someone who does not usually attend Cabinet meetings: Israel's Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, a Torah scholar who lost a son during this war in Gaza. He said: "We don't realize what an amazing miracle happened here! When I asked the Prime Minister to ensure that Hamas not remain in Gaza, I never imagined that this would be part of a genuine American plan that the whole world supports! But now we have to know how to actualize this. We have to let the Prime Minister run this vis-à-vis the Americans, the way I saw him up close running the story with Iran. I trust that he will do it successfully."
Another question is who will make up the "technocratic" government that will run Gaza. Some ministers said that they well know that many of the candidates are recommended by Hamas or, equally bad, are PA representatives. Elkin lamented to Dermer, "This will be a Hamas-PA unity government, which is against the Trump Plan." Dermer said, "The Americans agree with you, and they won't let it happen." Smotrich chimed in, "If it's neither Hamas nor the PA, then it's an 'empty set,' which doesn't exist in this context."
Minister Orit Strook, a resident of Hebron, told Netanyahu that the problem began when he agreed to internationalize Gaza. She reminded him that after the Wye Agreement by which Israel withdrew from most of that city, he promised to send in tanks if the home of Strook or her neighbors would be fired upon. "Our house was in fact targeted," Strook said, "and my son was wounded, as you know. But you couldn't send in tanks – because you were no longer in office."
The moral of the story, Strook continued, is that whatever the Prime Minister does, he must take into account that the moment of truth might happen under someone else's watch. "The minimum you have to do is to guarantee that we have total security control in Gaza, just like in Judea and Samaria, so that the IDF can enter wherever and whenever it has to."
Reliving the Disengagement?
Coming to Bibi's defense at this juncture was Minister Dudi Amsalem, who said, "Israel does not want to rule over two million Gazans, and that's why we prefer to internationalize the area." Let's leave aside the fact that this number is a total exaggeration, and that Amsalem is falling into the false narrative trap that the Arab world likes to tell about Gaza. More important is that Amsalem's excuse is of the type that Ariel Sharon and his supporters used over 20 years ago when they executed the Disengagement and threw out the nearly 9,000 Jews then living in Gaza – and we know where that got us.