The war between Hamas and IsraelDossierRevealed by the media “Mekomit”, an orientation text from the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence, advocates for a permanent movement of the enclave’s civilian population towards Egypt and not for their maintenance in the Gaza Strip.
Wikileaks, an NGO specializing in the disclosure of classified documents, published on Monday, October 30, an October 13 document prepared by the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence, which mentions a forced relocation of civilians from Gaza to Egypt, which ” “would lead to positive strategic outcomes” in the long term. This leak was viewed more than 5 million times on Twitter (renamed X) and attracted extensive media coverage. WikiLeaks claims that this “consultation document envisages a three-stage process, including the construction of tent cities in Sinai and the opening of a humanitarian corridor, followed by the construction of cities in the north.” [de la région] from where there would be no return to Gaza.”
Verified Israeli Intelligence Ministry document dated October 13 suggests that the forced expulsion of civilians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt would “bring positive and long-term strategic results.”
The consultation document outlines a three-step process that includes the creation of tent cities. pic.twitter.com/T5JWp9QGkv
– WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 30, 2023
The origin of this revelation lies not in Julian Assange’s NGO, but in the left-wing Israeli-Palestinian information site Mekomit. On Saturday, October 28, the media published in full the ten pages of the Ministry of Intelligence’s “Orientation Document: Alternatives to a Policy Guide for the Civilian Population in Gaza.” Mekomit emphasizes that this text recommends a permanent forced relocation of the Gaza Strip population to Sinai. The newspaper says it contacted the ministry, which confirmed that it was indeed an authentic report and not intended for the press.
“Influence assessed as relatively low”
Mekomit said the document was previously mentioned by Israeli news site Calcalist in an Oct. 24 article and now reveals its full contents. The media is very cautious about the real consequences of this text, pointing out that its existence “does not necessarily indicate that its recommendations will be taken into account by the security system.” Despite its name, the Ministry of Intelligence is not responsible for any intelligence agency, but produces studies independently and policy papers distributed for review to government and security bodies that are not involved. The office’s annual budget is around 25 million shekels [5,8 millions d’euros, ndlr] and its influence is considered relatively weak.
According to the AP, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office downplayed the significance, describing it as a hypothetical exercise. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded through a spokesman: “We are against any transfer, in any form, and we see this as a red line that we will not allow to be crossed.”
This report, consulted in full by CheckNews, presents three scenarios for the Palestinian population in Gaza following the defeat of Hamas. In the first case, the Ministry of Intelligence is considering maintaining it and seizing power from the Palestinian Authority. In the second case, the population remains in Gaza, but another local Arab power emerges. In the third case, she is finally evacuated to Sinai.
The document disqualifies the first two scenarios for strategic and security reasons. The note fears that the establishment of the Palestinian Authority could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state in a complicated occupation situation. And the scenario of a new Arab power as an alternative to Hamas is not considered credible and could even lead to the emergence of a new, even more violent authority. The ministry assumes that the establishment of Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip could lead to a bad image of Israel internationally, as this area would remain disputed.
“Major diplomatic initiative”
The ministry’s analysis therefore tends to defend the scenario of a displaced population from Gaza. The report envisages that “settlement cities will first be established in the Sinai region,” then a humanitarian corridor will allow Gazans to settle in cities in the north of the Egyptian region. The ministry then explains that Egypt must accept the refugees under international law and that Israel “must act to promote a broad diplomatic initiative aimed at ensuring that countries voluntarily assist the evacuated population and agree to accept them as immigrants to record.”
The ministry assumes that further communication campaigns must be carried out against western and eastern countries, but also among the population of Gaza, “to make it clear to them that there is no longer any hope of returning to the areas that Israel wants to occupy in the near future .’Future, whether that’s true or not.’ The document even lays out the type of message to be sent to the displaced: “Allah has ensured that you will lose this land because of the leadership of Hamas – you have no choice but to move elsewhere with the help of your Muslim brothers. “