Israel is under pressure from its closest allies to develop a plan for managing the Gaza Strip after the war. Photo: Getty/Omar Al-Qattaa
Israel's secret plan to persuade a powerful Gaza clan to wrest power from Hamas was foiled when the terror group executed its leader, The Telegraph reports.
Israel is now trying to recruit more moderates Palestinian leaders from the West Bank will rule Gaza after the war.
A plan to establish the Dogmoosh clan – the most powerful in the enclave – in Gaza failed after the group's leader and several of its allies were killed. This was reported by an Israeli intelligence source familiar with the plan.
Israel has been under pressure from its closest allies, including the United States, to develop a plan for managing the Gaza Strip after the war. The Israeli government is also facing pressure from within over its refusal to present a plan for the future of the coastal area.
An intelligence source said an attempt was made two months ago to induce the notorious Dogmus family to seize control when the fighting ended.< /p>
“We offered Dogmush control of the Gaza Strip,” the source said. “It ended disastrously.”
“A short attempt ended with Hamas infiltrating the clan’s territory, beheading its inhabitants, and the next day all the clans jointly declared support for Hamas.”
Significant influence < p>The Dogmush family was seen as a viable option to overthrow the Hamas terrorist group in the struggle for political control of the Gaza Strip, where the clans have significant influence.
But everyone must maintain a delicate relationship with Hamas, and there are many deep-seated differences.
The plan gave Israel “the potential to forge alliances based on the ancient adage: the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” the source said. in intelligence.
“This plan was like asking Tony Soprano to run New Jersey,” the source added.
The Dogmoosh clan, considered the only group with enough power to topple Hamas, has a history of conflict with the terrorist group. including a bloody clash in 2008 that resulted in the deaths of at least 10 clan members.
Several Israeli officials, unaware of the clan's activities beyond its militancy with a network of arms and drug smuggling operations, realized the strategic potential and initiated contact with the clan leaders, who agreed to discuss the proposals.
Muntes Dogmus, the head of a clan known for its ties to al-Qaeda, is also on the US list of most wanted terrorists. His notoriety has also made him unpopular among Gazans.
In March, the Times of Israel reported that Hamas killed Dogmush after accusing him of having ties to Israel, saying the clan subsequently targeted all members Hamas.
Fighting smuggling
Originally from Turkey, the clan now straddles the border between Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Egypt, allowing it to control smuggling in tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, Solomon explained.
“There is no other force in the country. Rafah and the southern Gaza Strip are as powerful as the Dogmush clan,” said Ronen Solomon, an Israeli security analyst who has been researching the clan since the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2005.
Senior Israeli officials are now drawing up plans to find credible alternative rulers “the day after” the war, in the hope of persuading younger, more moderate members of Fatah, which runs the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA), to govern Gaza in a way that allows its people to live side by side with Israel.
Oded Aylam, a former head of Israel's counterterrorism center, said that after the war ends, “there remains one alternative that is difficult to digest and problematic: bringing Fatah back to Gaza and preventing Hamas from integrating into the mechanism that will be created.”
“For this step to succeed, we must find worthy partners both among Fatah in Gaza and among importers from the West Bank,” Mr. Ailam said.
By relying even on moderate Fatah leaders, we are creating complex network. problems for Israel, however.
Dr. Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research said: “Based on the current results, few Palestinians would find this acceptable.”
He added : “If the choice is between Hamas and the PA, the majority will choose Hamas without hesitation.”
Mr. Ailam, a former counterterrorism chief, warned that giving Fatah control of the West Bank and Gaza would also create the basis for a unified Palestinian state – something Benjamin Netanyahu's government opposes.
Other alternatives, including an Israeli one a military administration or the introduction of a multinational peacekeeping force are unlikely to work, he said.
Recent Comments