Israel Intends To Take Control Of Entire Gaza, Says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel intends to take control of the entire Gaza Strip to remove Hamas and ensure the country’s security, before handing it over to an unspecified Arab governing force, Fox News reported.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, ahead of a key cabinet meeting on the next stage of the Gaza war, Netanyahu stressed that Israel does not plan to retain civilian governance over the territory.

“We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza, and to pass it civilian governance,” Netanyahu said as per Fox News.

“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter, but we don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body,” Netanyahu added.

The Israeli prime minister said a “detailed plan” would be drawn up for a post-Hamas government in Gaza, with no role for the Palestinian Authority, according to Fox News.

“We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening us, and giving the Gazans a good life,” he said.

Netanyahu noted that Israel currently controls about 75% of the enclave but has avoided areas where Hamas is believed to be holding hostages. He reiterated that Israel has no intent to cause civilian suffering, citing ongoing humanitarian aid efforts.

Explaining the destruction seen in Gaza, Netanyahu mentioned that Hamas booby-traps buildings, and detonating the group’s underground tunnels often brings down empty structures above them, as per Fox News.

When asked if US President Donald Trump had given Israel a “green light” to take over the Strip, Netanyahu replied, “He just says, ‘I know Israel will do what it has to do.’ We haven’t got into that kind of discussion,” while confirming that the US and Israel have discussed humanitarian aid surges and broad principles for post-Hamas Gaza, but not a detailed plan. (ANI)