Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided a lot of in-depth open dialogue about Gaza’s post-war future for months. Trying to appease both his much- proper allies, who seek to rebuild Jewish settlements in Gaza, and Israel‘s international partners, who want Gaza returned to Palestinian governance, Netanyahu has stopped little of any particular declaration.
According to three Israeli leaders and five people who spoke with people of the Israeli government, senior officers in his company have been considering an broad plan for post-war Gaza, in which Israel may offer to give the place control to an alliance of Arab nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, as well as the US.
The people’s proposal called for Israel to do so in exchange for normalized relations between itself and Saudi Arabia.
Far- right members of Netanyahu’s coalition are almost certain to dismiss such an idea, and so are the Arab countries mentioned as possible participants. But it is the clearest sign yet that officials of Israel’s govt are thinking about Gaza’s future, and could be a starting point in future negotiations.
The Emirati and Saudi governments have said they must be involved in post-war planning before the power-sharing plan can be implemented because it does not explicitly establish a Palestinian state. However, others have tempered their opinions of the proposal because it at least suggests greater flexibility for Israeli leaders than their public statements suggest.
Under the proposal, the Arab- Israeli alliance, working with the US, would appoint Gazan leaders to redevelop the devastated territory, overhaul its education system and maintain order. According to the proposal, the alliance would allow Gazans to cast ballots on whether to be absorbed into a united Palestinian administration that would rule both in Gaza and the West Bank after seven to ten years. In the meantime, the plan suggests, the Israeli military could continue to operate inside Gaza. nyt
