The Israeli defense minister rejected Netanyahu’s plan for the next day of the war in Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Wednesday he rejected Israel exercising military or civilian control over the Gaza Strip after the war ended, calling for a Palestinian alternative to Hamas to rule the territory.
Galant told a news conference in Tel Aviv, “I repeat clearly: I won’t accept the establishment of an Israeli military administration in Gaza, and Israel shouldn’t have civilian control over the Gaza Strip”.
“I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that Israel won’t impose civilian control over the Gaza Strip, that Israel won’t establish a military command in the Gaza Strip, and that a government alternative to Hamas will be prepared immediately”.
Netanyahu had previously argued that there was no point in any discussion about the future administration of the Gaza Strip before Hamas was eliminated.
He added that “the speeches about (the next day) as long as Hamas remains what its, will be nothing more than empty talk”.
Gallant responded that “the end of the military campaign must be accompanied by political action,” as Israel has been conducting ground operations for nearly ten days in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip with the stated aim of eliminating the last brigades of Hamas.
The Israeli Minister of Defense considered that “the day after Hamas” won’t exist until Palestinian entities take control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors, and the formation of an alternative government to the Hamas regime… This, above all, is in the interest of the State of Israel”.
He stressed that “the idea of a military and civilian leadership in Gaza” is “negative and dangerous for the State of Israel strategically, militarily and in terms of security”.
Gallant estimated that if that were to happen, “administering Gaza militarily will become the main military and security effort of the State of Israel in the coming years, at the expense of other areas; The price to pay will be bloodshed and casualties, as well as a high economic cost”.
According to him, the battle plan in the Gaza Strip, presented by the military apparatus to the government after the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel, provides for the simultaneous destruction of Hamas militarily and the installation of a non-hostile Palestinian government alternative to Israel.
Yoav Gallant lamented, “Since October, I have repeatedly raised this issue with the government and have not received any response”.
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a member of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, criticized Galant for his remarks.
“The defense minister who failed on October 7 and continues to fail today; Such a defense minister should be replaced to achieve the goals of the war”.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel killed more than 1,170 people, most of them civilians, based on official Israeli data, with more than 250 have been taken hostage and 128 remain detained in Gaza, including 36 among those killed, according to the Israeli army said.
On the other hand, Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 35,000 people, most of them civilians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
