Israel provides insight into post-war plan for Gaza as it pushes for Palestinians to administer 'humanitarian zones'

Displaced Palestinian children are given food at a public school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Photo: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/GETTY

Israel is looking for Palestinians to manage «humanitarian pockets» in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas no longer has a presence, as part of a trial run for the territory's post-war future.

“We're looking for the right people to step up to the plate. But it is clear that this will take time because no one will come forward if they think Hamas will put a bullet in their head,” a senior Israeli official told Reuters.

The “right” people are the ones who… According to Reuters, he is not connected in any way to Hamas or the recent violence, or to anyone on the payroll of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

“Anyone who took part in the events of October 7 or even did not condemn them, he was expelled,” the official added.

Local traders and civil society leaders will distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza according to the Israeli plan. Photo: Abed Zaghut/Anadolu/Getty Images

A local Israeli TV channel reported that negotiations were underway with unnamed people in the Zeitoun area of ​​Gaza City.

Local merchants and civil society leaders will distribute humanitarian aid, while the Israeli military will provide peripheral security, Channel 12 says.

Plan to «deradicalize» Gaza

Channel 12 reported that the plan also includes an overhaul of school teaching materials that Israel has long argued incites hatred of Israel and Jews, as part of Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to «deradicalize» Gaza.

Hamas abandoned its stated plans, telling Reuters it would be tantamount to Israeli resettlement in Gaza. , which he left in 2005.

«We are confident that this project is pointless, a sign of confusion and will never succeed,» said Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official.

It is the most detailed proposal to emerge so far. how Israel envisions governing Gaza after the end of current fighting.

A “revitalized” Palestinian Authority 

The United States has called for a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern Gaza after the war.

But Netanyahu has ruled out allowing the PA to take control of the Gaza Strip, insisting that Israel maintain security control throughout the area west of the Jordan River.

Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, presented his Gaza plan in last month, stressing that Israel would not control civil affairs and would not relocate the enclave.

However, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the minister of national security, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, both of whom represent far-right parties in government, called on Israel to reoccupy the Gaza Strip and encourage Palestinian emigration.