Feet dragging, division and obstruction: What Israel really wants for Gaza

Israel has spent much than 2 years attacking Gaza successful its genocidal warfare connected the Palestinian enclave. It has destroyed the bulk of its lodging and infrastructure, and killed much than 70,000 Palestinians, leaving the remainder of Gaza’s colonisation facing a harsh wintertime with inadequate food, medicine, and shelter.

And yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – for whom the International Criminal Court has issued an apprehension warrant for warfare crimes committed successful Gaza – this week joined US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, established to oversee the reconstruction and governance of Gaza.

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It opens up the question of what Netanyahu – and Israel – really privation from the Palestinian territory, and whether they privation the territory to rebuild oregon conscionable privation a continuation of the presumption quo.

Ahead of Netanyahu lies a hard journey, observers say. With Israeli elections looming aboriginal this year, helium indispensable look to the satellite and the Israeli nationalist arsenic moving with US ambitions for Gaza.

But helium besides needs to support his governing coalition, which relies successful portion connected elements, specified arsenic his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who are not conscionable opposed to the reconstruction of Gaza, but besides opposed to the ceasefire successful a territory that helium and his allies – arsenic spiritual Zionists – respect themselves arsenic divinely entitled to settee upon.

So far, things bash not look to beryllium going wholly Netanyahu’s way. He has failed to hold the modulation to the 2nd signifier of Trump’s three-phase ceasefire plan, contempt Hamas’s refusal to disarm. Similarly, contempt his objections, Gaza’s Rafah crossing is owed to unfastened successful some directions, allowing radical successful and retired of the enclave, adjacent week. Lastly, his protestations against Turkiye and Qatar joining the Board of Peace, and perchance deploying forces to Gaza arsenic portion of a projected International Stabilisation Force, besides look to person been overruled by the US.

Settlement oregon security

At home, Netanyahu’s furniture remains divided connected Gaza. On Monday, Smotrich not lone slammed US proposals arsenic “bad for Israel”, but connected Monday, called for the US basal successful confederate Israel liable for overseeing the ceasefire to beryllium dismantled. Meanwhile, others successful the Israeli parliament person chiefly focused connected the upcoming elections, aiming lone to galvanise their governmental base, careless of ideology.

Netanyahu continues to importune that Hamas volition beryllium disarmed, and the Israeli subject is moving connected razing territory each on the borderline with Gaza, creating a buffer portion heavy into the coastal enclave.

Even if Hamas does not wholly suffer each its weapons, it has been weakened, and pushing Palestinians further distant from the Israeli borderline allows the Israeli authorities to task the representation of information for its population.

The Israeli public, exhausted aft much than 2 years of war, mostly relegates the consequences of Israel’s actions to the backmost pages of nationalist media.

“The nationalist is profoundly divided connected Gaza and the Board of Peace,” said American-Israeli governmental advisor and pollster Dahlia Scheindlin. “Though there’s a number bloc favouring resettling Gaza, astir of Israeli nine is splintered. People typically presumption Gaza with a substance of fearfulness and a request for security, driven wholly by the events of October 2023. They privation Israel to stay successful Gaza successful immoderate signifier and don’t spot outsiders to grip it. At the aforesaid time, there’s anticipation that US engagement could execute what 2 years of warfare couldn’t.”

“However, astir everyone starts from the aforesaid point: Anything is amended than going backmost to war,” Scheindlin said.

“They don’t person a strategy, and everything is chaos,” bid campaigner Gershon Baskin said, referring to Israel’s leaders. “They’re successful predetermination mode and lone speaking to their base. I went to the Knesset yesterday. It’s similar watching lunatics successful a location of madness. It’s a disaster.”

For overmuch of the public, Palestinians stay invisible. “They don’t exist. Israel has astir apt killed much than 100,000, but the bulk of Israelis don’t cognize oregon attraction what’s going connected the different broadside of the border. We adjacent quality there’s a border; it’s conscionable ours,” Baskin said. “We don’t adjacent spot it connected TV. All they amusement are aged clips connected loop. You tin find images of Gaza connected societal media, but you person to spell looking for it.

“Most Israelis don’t.”

Palestinians locomotion done the demolition caused by the Israeli aerial and crushed violative successful the al-Shati camp, successful Gaza City [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]

Divided politics

Many Israeli leaders hold connected 1 happening – that determination volition not beryllium a Palestinian state.

How to scope that goal, oregon the details that travel it and however Gaza fits into it all, are unfastened to interpretation.

Irrespective of the result of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire process, Israel volition stay alongside a territory, Gaza, against whose colonisation it is accused of genocide. Currently, according to analysts wrong Israel, determination appears to beryllium nary program for the coexistence that geography dictates, lone the unspoken suspicion that extracurricular powers, successful this lawsuit the US, are not truly susceptible of determining however champion to execute it.

Even Israel’s committedness to US plans is unfastened to question, with Netanyahu – erstwhile safely extracurricular of Trump and his team’s earshot – framing the ceasefire’s 2nd signifier arsenic a “declarative move”, alternatively than the definite motion of advancement described by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

“The genocide hasn’t stopped. It’s continuing; it’s conscionable moved from progressive to passive,” said Israeli lawmaker Ofer Cassif. “Israel is not bombing Gaza arsenic before, but present it is leaving the radical determination to frost and starve. This isn’t happening connected its own. This is authorities policy.”

‘The genocide hasn’t stopped. It’s continuing; it’s conscionable moved from progressive to passive,’ Israeli lawmaker Ofer Cassif told Al Jazeera [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

Numerous analysts, including governmental economist Shir Hever, questioned Israeli leaders’ capableness for semipermanent planning.

Decisions, specified arsenic the attacks connected Iran and Qatar, Hever said, were driven arsenic overmuch by home authorities arsenic overarching strategy. The Iran onslaught successful June, for instance, coincided with a pending ballot of no confidence successful the government, portion the Qatar onslaught successful September whitethorn person been an effort to refocus nationalist attraction distant from Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, helium told Al Jazeera.

“There is nary plan. Long-term readying is not however Israeli governments work,” Hever told Al Jazeera. “Smotrich and others person a semipermanent program – they privation to settee Gaza and expel Palestinians – but successful existent politics, determination is nary plan. Everything is short-term.”

Uncertain future

“I’m much optimistic than I person been for a agelong time,” Baskin, whose mediation betwixt Israel and the PLO successful the ’90s proved pivotal during the Oslo Accords, “There’s a caller origin successful play that hasn’t been determination before: a US president that the Israeli authorities can’t accidental nary to,” helium continued, referring to the US determination to override Israeli objections against moving into signifier 2 earlier Hamas’s disarmament, the inclusion of Qatar and Turkiye successful the Board of Peace and the determination to unfastened the Rafah crossing.

Cassif was little hopeful. “I don’t person immoderate religion successful this Board of Peace,” helium said, “I deliberation it’s present authorities argumentation to support frustrating and delaying plans to signifier a stabilisation force; to conscionable fto radical dice portion that happens.

“People impeach maine of saying these things for politically cynical reasons, but of course, that’s not true,” helium said, “I privation I didn’t person to accidental them astatine all.”

“It’s painful,” helium continued, “And it’s achy to maine not conscionable arsenic a humanist and a socialist, but arsenic a Jew.”