Israeli media reported this Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced a yet another new plan for governing post-war Gaza, one that first requires completely destroying Gaza.
Israeli media Jerusalem Post unveiled in a report this Thursday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for post-war Gaza under the title “Vision 2035”. According to the plan, which was devised on the advice of some of the biggest Israeli businessmen close to Netanyahu, Gaza must first be destroyed, rebuilt, and then turned into a regional commercial and industrial center under Israeli control to exploits Palestinian natural gas and enjoys its cheap labor.
According to the report, documents from the Prime Minister’s Office that were recently published online show a different plan for Israel to allegedly revive the Gaza economy. These documents show Netanyahu’s efforts to reintegrate Gaza into the regional economy through the creation of large infrastructure and huge economic investments, but first by razing the Strip into ashes.
Three steps to make Gaza a dreamland!
According to these documents, there are three steps for Gaza to return to self-governance and become a regional economic center as Israel believes.
The first step, called humanitarian aid, is supposed to last 12 months. Israel will create safe zones free of Hamas control, starting in the north and slowly expanding to the south of Gaza. A coalition of Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco) will distribute and monitor humanitarian aid in safe areas. Palestinians in Gaza will eventually manage these safe zones under the supervision of Arab countries.
The second stage will happen in the next five to ten years. This phase includes the implementation of the plan to transfer the security responsibility of Gaza from Israel to the Palestinians. At the same time, the Arab coalition of the aforementioned countries will, in the first phase, create a multilateral institution called the Gaza Rehabilitation Authority (GRA) to oversee the reconstruction efforts and financial management of the Gaza Strip. The GRA is then to be run by the Palestinians in Gaza and will take over the management of the safe zones.
In the third and final stage, which is called “self-governing Gaza”, Israel still retains the right to act against “security threats” but the power is slowly transferred to either a local government in Gaza or a unified Palestinian government (including the West Bank).
Netanyahu’s latest Gaza plan, full of benefits and yet not even close to reality!
However, this is conditional on the successful demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the complete evacuation of Hamas from Gaza. The final step at this stage is for the Palestinians to manage Gaza independently and join the Abraham Pact.
Part of the efforts to rebuild Gaza and turn it into a large economic zone will include “rebuilding from nothing” (meaning the need to completely destroy Gaza and then rebuild it) and design new and modern cities in current Gaza.
The documents then introduce various advantages that this plan will have for Israel, Palestine and the Arab countries of the region.
“This plan brought several benefits to the countries involved. For Israel, the main benefit, apart from security in the south, is to help normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. The major benefits for the Gulf states to participate in it include defense pacts with the United States and unrestricted access to Gaza’s Mediterranean ports,” the documents said.
“If successful in Gaza, the plan could also be implemented in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon,” the documents also noted, further saying that “for the people of Gaza, the biggest benefit of these measures after the end of Hamas control will be huge investment in Gaza and huge job opportunities, as well as creating a path for reunification with the West Bank and achieving self-government.”
However, as the plan first requires completely destroying Gaza, it is clear as daylight that like other plans that Netanyahu has so far suggested for the governance of post-war Gaza, this one, too, will end up in failure even before implementation.
