Islam Times - Goals and Risks of Israel Naming Military Ruler for Gaza

Islam Times - Whereas the international community is calling for end of war and Israeli military exit from Gaza, Netanyahu cabinet seems to have new dreams for administration of this blockaded coastal Palestinian strip.

On the eve of the one-week ceasefire in Gaza for polio vaccination under the auspices of the UN, the Israeli military named a military ruler for Gaza under a humanitarian title.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Brigadier General Elad Goren was named head of "Humanitarian-civilian efforts in Gaza."

Critics refer to this appointment as the appointment of a permanent governor for Gaza and worry about the Israelis' plans to reoccupy the region indefinitely and continue the policy of ethnic cleansing that has been in place since the Nakba Day in 1948.

Israeli media have pointed to the objectives of this appointment and the responsibilities of the senior officer in Gaza, including monitoring humanitarian aid, coordinating civilian issues, and potentially managing the controlled return of refugees to Gaza City and reconstruction projects.

While the Walla news website talked about difference inside the army about this appointment, Yedioth Ahronoth said that still there is no clear definition of Goren's post. Goren is a person who grew up in the coordination command of the government's activities in Israel, but he is the first person who will hold a position parallel to that of Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim, the head of the Urban Development Organization in the occupied West Bank.

This famous Israeli newspaper referred to this step as Israel's lack of a clear strategy for the so-called "day after the war" in the Gaza Strip and explained that the non-determination of strategic goals by the security cabinet on the future of the Gaza Strip keep the problems unresolved, while the Israeli military acknowledges the fact that Israel will continue to be responsible for life in the Gaza Strip, and even expand in the coming years and this responsibility is met with appointment of an officer who is responsible for handling humanitarian affairs of Gaza and he is actually responsible for life of about 2 million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. The newspaper explained that this responsibility is like the post of "chief officer of Gaza."

The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior security official as saying about the new position that "this is a position that will accompany us in the coming years. Anyone who believes that Israel will soon end Gaza control and leave it is totally wrong because Israel's presence and intervention in Gaza depends on the wave of conflict and whether the conflict there will slow down or intensify, and whether or not a deal is made to return the captured people."

The newspaper further quoted the official as saying that the administration of Gaza will continue daily technical affairs like delivery of humanitarian aids, reconstruction of demolished local infrastructures, and establishment of regular contacts with foreign aid agencies.

The newspaper reported that Goren is expected to take over responsibility of non-military strategic measures and moves in the long run to rally international legitimacy for continuing Gaza war, without eruption of a humanitarian crisis or a famine.

Tel Aviv aims behind naming military ruler for Gaza

Naming a military ruler for Gaza in first place means that Israelis have no plan for pulling out of Gaza, and will sieze this opportunity to bolster their foothold and gradually occupy the coastal strip.

Along with creation of this post, the Israeli security cabinet on Thursday in a meeting approved stay in Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border despite opposition of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In the cabinet session, Netanyahu claimed that October 7 took place because Israel was not in control of Philadelphi Corridor, and that this time Tel Aviv insists on holding the border with Egypt’s Sinai Desert.

Exit from the Philadelphia Corridor was one of Hamas' conditions for the continuation of the ceasefire negotiations, and according to the Israeli media, this condition will have a big impact on the negotiation process. Therefore, the appointment of a military ruler for Gaza shows the occupation regime's inconsistency in negotiations and its intention to mar them.

Also, with the appointment of this military official, even the plan of handing over the administration of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority will be buried. The US tried to impose Palestinian Authority on Gaza after the war, so that it could implement Israel's plans like the West Bank step by step, but Netanyahu does not trust Mahmoud Abbas and his government and so he leaves Gaza control to the army to make sure of security of settlers.

Since the mission of this military ruler will be monitoring the entire affairs of Gaza, the Netanyahu government is trying to watch all the movements of the Palestinians by controlling the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, which are a barrier between the north and south of Gaza. Earlier, Netanyahu announced the inspection of refugees who intend to return to northern Gaza as one of his conditions for a ceasefire agreement, and Hamas leaders are strongly against this request.

According to its own claim, the Israeli army intends to prevent armed elements from entering northern Gaza, which is almost under the control of the Israeli military by controlling Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, but in principle, it wants to prevent the refugees from returning to their homes with these restrictions, because it can better control the north when it is without residents.

Naming a military ruler has another aim. Tel Aviv wants to take control of Rafah Border Crossing which is the only route for Gaza to receive humanitarian aids.

In recent months, the civil forces and employees affiliated with the UN, the Red Cross and the World Food Program managed and distributed aids among the residents of Gaza, but after this, the Israeli military ruler is supposed to handle this case.

Netanyahu government has apparently appointed a military ruler to be in charge of humanitarian and logistical operations in Gaza, but the reality is that it wants to cut off access of civil forces to humanitarian operations in Gaza. The occupation army has killed hundreds of civil forces and UN staff in the past eleven months and does not want these people to be involved in Gaza affairs.

Also, by naming a military ruler, Netanyahu government tries to legitimize genocidal war on Gaza. In other words, it wants to paint its barbarous military campaign with humanitarian colors to ease the international pressures calling for end of war. This effort comes while over the past 11 months, the Israelis have blocked aid to Gaza, leaving nearly 2 million civilians in acute starvation. So, the humanitarian gesture the Netanyahu government has taken is northing but a deceit to continue its ambitious plans under the guise humanitarian institutions.

Furthermore, war in Gaza will end one day and reconstruction period will follow. Tel Aviv tries to bring the reconstruction operations under its watch. Fed up with the complex network of Hamas tunnels, Tel Aviv leaders want to discover all parts of Gaza in the process of reconstruction and prevent Hamas and other resistance groups from regaining power in this area in the future.

Palestinian groups have repeatedly said that political and security fate of Gaza should be decided by the Palestinians themselves, but Tel Aviv's new move is against the wishes of the Palestinians and does not allow the residents of this area to decide for their future. In 2007, by holding elections, the people of Gaza handed over the management of Gaza to Hamas, which was the nightmare of the Israeli occupation leaders for 17 years, and therefore Israelis do not want to see the history repeat itself.

Under the ruse of humanitarian aid, Netanyahu and his orbit claim they help Gaza people recover, but the main scenario aims to displace Gazans and replace them with Israeli settlers. This project has been underway in the West Bank for 5 decades, and Israelis built new settlements and forced the Palestinians out of their lands. Radical Israeli ministers like Itmar Ben-Gvir have openly pointed out to this plan.

In a security cabinet meeting, Ben-Gvir in last month called for launching the "pilot project of encouraging hundreds of thousands of Gazans to migrate." He claimed that "some of Gaza people sell their kidneys to exit Gaza and we should sieze this opportunity."

The relocation of Palestinians from one place to another is meant to exhaust the Palestinian and force them to flee the strip. On July 28, the UN reported that 9 percent of Gaza population have been displaced because of Israeli evacuation orders. In recent months, the Israeli army has displaced more Palestinians by issuing evacuation orders in different areas of Gaza and making the entire enclave insecure.

Appointing a military official to rule Gaza will mean establishing marshal law, something revealing long term Israeli plans for Gaza to be implemented by radical ministers.