Jerusalem will soon roll out a plan to replace Hamas governance in Northern Gaza, the Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said on June 26, 2024. Speaking at the Reichmann University Annual Herzliya conference Hanegbi said that the collapse of Hamas military ability to rule will open new opportunities for countries that want to see a governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza with the local leadership in the strip to join this process.
He explained that Gaza’s new leadership will include Israel’s Abraham Accords partners namely, the United States of America (USA) and European Union and the United Nations (UN) while the Israeli military continues cleansing the area of Hamas presence.
“We have been talking about the notion of the day after for many months and the main thing that we have tried to emphasise throughout is that it’s mainly the day after Hamas in the sense that we don’t need to wait for it to disappear, because that process can take a long time. “The idea is and this is what the Americans agree on including that the Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant is conducting right now in Washington is that there will be a so-called top-down leadership and not only bottom up,” he continued.
Hanegbi said, “You cannot completely get Hamas to disappear because its an idea, a concept.” The US has pressed Israeli officials to clarify a vision for Gaza’s governance after the war. The Biden administration opposes Israel occupying Gaza or allowing the strip to fall into chaos. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that Israel’s three war aims are destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the return of hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
In an interview with a American media agency, on June 21, 2024, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a demilitarized post war Gaza will be overseen by a civilian-run administration with the assistance of Arab countries. He also referred to a deradicalization process.
“The minute Hamas ability to operate its military and civilian systems like it could on October 7 is taken away, there will be more ability for countries that want to see a governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza with the local leadership in Gaza to join this process,” he said. At least 1200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza Border on October 7, 2023. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 of them are believed dead.
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