Disagreements between members of the Israeli war government began to leak into the open, threatening to undermine Israel's military strategy in Gaza, at what appears to be a crucial stage of the conflict.
The small group of decision-makers, consisting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and former Israeli army commander Benny Gantz, disagree openly over the two biggest dilemmas: the first is whether Israel should negotiate to end the conflict and free the hostages, and the second is who should govern the Strip. afflicted once the war ended.
The divisions in the Israeli government reflect long-standing personal and professional differences between lawmakers who met after the Hamas attack last October 7 to form a “unity government.”
As pressure mounts from Washington to reduce the tragic toll of civilian deaths in Gaza, and the government fails in its declared mission to destroy Hamas and return all the hostages, divisions among the leaders have resurfaced, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, Gallant said that “political hesitation” about who will take charge of Gaza after the war will harm the military campaign, noting that ending the war “must be based on political action,” as he put it.
In his plan, which he outlined earlier in January, Gallant called for “Palestinian self-rule and the formation of a US-led multinational task force, with European and Middle Eastern partners, to oversee the rehabilitation of the Strip.”
The Israeli Defense Minister wants the revitalized Palestinian Authority to take over the management of the Strip, with the help of Arab countries.
As for Netanyahu, under pressure from his partners in the far-right coalition to prevent the Palestinian Authority from ruling Gaza, he has not yet put forward a clear vision for managing the Strip after the war.
Under pressure from the families of hostages held by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, Gantz, head of the National Unity Party, and his deputy, Gadi Eisenkot, are seeking to enter into talks with Hamas in order to return more than 100 hostages who are still in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.
But on the other hand, Netanyahu and Gallant, both in the ruling Likud Party, believe that continuing military pressure on Hamas is what will force the movement to make concessions.
Reuven Hazan, from the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Wall Street Journal: “It is clear that there is a difference between the two sides. If the matter were up to Gantz and his deputy, and tomorrow Hamas made an offer to end the war in exchange for the release of all the hostages, they would agree to “That, but Netanyahu will say no.”
The other disagreement
While the prime minister and defense minister agree to continue the war, they are increasingly at odds over who should rule Gaza next, a question that becomes more urgent as Israel appears to move into a less militarily intense phase.
Gallant said that the most intense phase of the fighting has ended in northern Gaza, adding that the Israeli army is close to completing the fierce fighting in the south, specifically around the city of Khan Yunis.
But it is not clear whether the entire Israeli security establishment agrees with this assessment.
When asked about his comment on Gallant’s statements, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the fighting in the south “will take time,” explaining that “the army has more work to do above ground and underground in the vast network of tunnels built by Hamas.”
Merav Zonszin, senior Israeli analyst at the International Crisis Group, said that the divisions in the war government “create a kind of paralysis that prevents it from implementing an effective strategy.”
She added to the Wall Street Journal: “This could end with Israel reoccupying the Gaza Strip, just as it occupied southern Lebanon for 15 years since the 1980s,” stressing: “There is no exit strategy.”
The International Crisis Group is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve bloody conflicts around the world.
“Gallant is likely motivated by a mix of political and military calculations when he publicly challenges Netanyahu for his refusal to discuss plans for the next day. I think he feels responsible for sending 20-year-olds on a mission that clearly failed,” Zonszin explained, referring to sending soldiers. Israelis to Gaza.
Now, in its fourth month, the Israeli campaign has destroyed very large areas of the Gaza Strip, displacing nearly two million people, while depriving the population of sufficient food and medicine.
More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, most of them children and women, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
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