FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
JERUSALEM – First he says it in Hebrew and as a “high-level anonymous source”: “We must denazify the Gaza Strip and cannot entrust it to the Palestinian Authority, where a similar ideology is present.” Two days later, Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with the Broadcaster ABC introduced his name and face: “Israel will retain responsibility for security in Gaza indefinitely after the end of the war.”
Washington – starting with President Joe Biden – is pushing for the 363 square kilometers to come back under the control of President Abu Mazen or his successor as part of a comprehensive peace solution that also includes the West Bank: the Palestinian territories that have been under control since 2007 Fundamentalists, politically divided If they took power in the Gaza Strip with weapons, they would once again be administered by a single entity.
It’s about understanding what the Prime Minister means by what he says on American television, in English for American ears. In the first phase, it would be a one kilometer deep buffer zone – in an already narrow sand corridor – along the entire Gaza Strip. An area considered a military zone: Palestinians entering it would be considered hostile. A model similar to Area B could then be established in the West Bank, one of the three sectors defined in the Oslo Accords that were supposed to be temporary in nature: civilian administration falls to the Palestinians, but Tsahal forces can intervene when and how they want want, with raids and arrests.
Instead, the extremist and messianic ministers are talking about a return to Gaza, about retreats to the colonies evacuated in 2005. For representatives of the most extreme peripheral areas, the war is an opportunity to push forward annexation projects, including in the West Bank. Even some more moderate politicians on the right are proclaiming that Palestinians should be punished with the loss of territory in Gaza, which is already one of the most densely populated places, with a population of over 2 million. Settlements or military bases could be established in the north, where the three colonies of Elai Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit were located, which were not part of the large religious bloc of Gush Katif.
All of these plans are at odds – especially if, as Netanyahu explained, they are for “indefinitely” – with the desire of Biden and Arab countries to resume negotiations leading to the creation of a Palestinian state.