Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Said On Thursday That Israel’s Intention With Its Ongoing Genocidal Assault On The Civilian Population Of The Gaza Strip Is To Militarily Control The Entire Territory.
On Friday, Netanyahu’s security cabinet, against the recommendations of the Israeli military, which has already placed 86% of Gaza under a “militarized zone” or displacement orders, approved a plan to complete the takeover of northern Gaza by controlling Gaza City and forcibly evacuate tens of thousands of Palestinians remaining there.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff objected to the plan on the grounds it would endanger the lives of Israeli hostages and exhaust the military.
In an interview with Fox News, when asked whether Israel would take control of all of Gaza, Netanyahu answered, “We intend to.”
He went on to say that Israel did not aim to permanently control Gaza but instead to overthrow Hamas, which has been the governing authority there since 2006, and to replace it with some other government.
From the start, Netanyahu has opposed the idea of the Palestinian Authority (PA) governing the Gaza Strip.
For years prior to the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7th, 2023, Netanyahu maintained a policy of utilizing Hamas as a strategic ally to prevent any movement toward peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
After a Hamas-led government was democratically elected in 2006, Israel responded by imposing a siege to collectively punish the civilian population and colluded with the American government and Fatah, the party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, to overthrow the legitimate leadership.
That effort resulted in violent clashes leading ultimately to Fatah being expelled from Gaza and a divided Palestinian leadership, with Hamas continuing to rule there while the PA continues to rule in the West Bank under Abbas despite his legal term having ended in 2009.
The PA was established under the Oslo Accords to essentially serve as Israel’s collaborator in enforcing its occupation regime, which is one of the key reasons why Hamas fared so well politically in municipal and legislative elections.
Israel has been the occupying power in Gaza since June 1967, when it launched what Israelis call the “Six Day War” with a surprise attack on Egypt. During that war, Israel invaded and occupied the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jersualem.
A common refrain among apologists of Israel’s occupation regime is that it withdrew from Gaza in 2005. However, while it’s true that Israel withdrew military forces and dismantled illegally constructed Jewish settlements, Israel has remained the occupying power in Gaza by virtue of its control over its borders, territorial waters, and airspace, in addition to continued administrative management.
The unit within the Israeli Ministry of Defense responsible for implementing the Israeli government’s civilian policies within the Occupied Palestinian Territories is known as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT.
While Netanyahu denied any intention to establish a permanent military presence in Gaza, effective annexation is precisely what members of his governing coalition have been aiming at from the start.
After the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7th, 2023, dubbed “Operation Al Aqsa Flood,” Israel responded by placing Gaza under a total siege, cutting off electricity and water and blocking entry of food, fuel, and other goods essential for survival.
The siege was accompanied by a military invasion, and in mid-October, the IDF ordered the 1.1 million Palestinians inhabiting northern Gaza to flee south or be deemed “terrorists.”
On October 14th, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, warned the international community that there was a grave danger that Israel would perpetrate a mass ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
In a position paper published on October 17th, 2023, the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, which has close ties to the Israeli military and security establishment, revealed the intention to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians.
The paper lauded Israel’s military assault on Gaza as “a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip.”
Then on October 24th, the Israeli news outlet Calcalist reported on a document from the Israeli Intelligence Ministry stating that the operation in Gaza could “yield positive and long-term strategic results”—namely, the expulsion of Palestinians to the Sinai desert in Egypt.
The full document in Hebrew was published by the Israeli magazine Mekomit, and an English translation was published by +972 Magazine, an independent outlet run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists.
As reported by Mekomit, the argument was made that it would be in the Palestinians’ own best interest to accept expulsion “compared to the number of casualties expected if the population remains.”
Either ethnic cleansing or genocide—that was the choice the Palestinians would effectively be offered.
The document stated that “the most dangerous alternative” to ethnic cleansing would be for the PA to take over Gaza because it could “lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Another option was to establish a “local Arab authority” other than the PA, but this idea, too, suffered from “significant deficiencies.”
The overall aim was to “motivate” Palestinians to flee Gaza—which would solve the problem of having to find a way to rule over them without any involvement from the existing Palestinian leadership.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office responded to the document’s publication by saying that no plan for governing Gaza after “eliminating Hamas’ governmental and military capabilities” had yet been officially discussed much less decided upon.
On November 10, 2023, when asked whether he supported Israeli resettlement in Gaza, Netanyahu expressed his view that this wasn’t “a realistic goal,” but that he aimed for “full security control.”
Hidden History -- In The Making 