An Israeli lobby seeks to restore Jewish settlement in Gaza
The so-called “Parliamentary Lobby for the Israeli Victory Project,” which operates in Israel and the United States, decided to approach the American administration and the Israeli government with a demand to “seriously deliberate on the project of voluntary transfer of Palestinians,” claiming that it is the best humanitarian solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The lobby warned of the American plan to restore the Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza and also the two-state solution, claiming that this is “a recipe for repeating the (Hamas) attack on October 7, several times.”
This position came on the eve of the meeting of the Mini Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs, on Thursday. To discuss the issue of “the day after the war in Gaza.” The lobby announced its adoption of the plan drawn up by Intelligence Minister Gili Gamliel, the author of the official project to deport the people of Gaza, who spoke in the meeting with members of the lobby about the importance of paving the way for the deportation of Gaza using measures that make life there almost impossible.
Gamliel said: “What should happen in Gaza after the war is the collapse of Hamas’ rule, the complete destruction of its sites and tunnels, the collapse of municipalities and village councils, the presence of hundreds of thousands of uninhabitable homes, making the population dependent on foreign humanitarian aid, the absence of workplaces, the spread of unemployment, and making 60 in One hundred percent of agricultural land is a security belt for Israel, and the Israeli army must remain in control of all border crossings and be able to continue its operational operations.”
A displaced girl in an UNRWA camp near Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip (EPA)
Transferring UNRWA materials
Gamliel added, “Transferring governing powers to the Palestinian Authority is a very dangerous matter for Israel. Let us not forget that she was a ruler there and was forcefully expelled by Hamas. Moreover, the leaders of the Authority do not differ from Hamas in their positions, and even expressed their support for the October 7 massacre. We did not fight for all this period and pay the price in blood for the establishment of an authority hostile to us.”
Gamliel confirmed that her project stipulates that there will be interim civilian rule in the Gaza Strip, led by the United States, Egypt and Jordan, with the Israeli army continuing its security control. Among the urgent tasks will be a process of complete disarmament and the implementation of a plan to change Palestinian consciousness, liquidate the Palestinian refugee issue and everything that perpetuates it, and transfer the resources that go to UNRWA to finance the voluntary migration project so that the refugees can build a new life abroad.
It is noteworthy that this lobby was founded in 2017 under the name “Israeli Victory Project,” a parliamentary lobby that includes a group of representatives from both the coalition and the opposition. It was chaired by MPs Avraham Nagusa from Likud, Eliezer Stern from the Yesh Atid party (which is headed by Yair Lapid), and Oded Forer from Lieberman’s party. It included 20 representatives from all Zionist parties. In 2019, the Knesset changed and was headed by Steinitz from Likud, Zvika Hauser from the Gideon Saar party (which later became part of a coalition led by Benny Gantz), and Yevgeni Suba from the Lieberman party. In the current Knesset, the lobby is led by Ohad Tal of Religious Zionism and Yevgeni Suba of Lieberman’s party.
Members of Unit 669 of the Israeli Air Force carry a wounded Israeli soldier to a plane in Gaza (AFP)
“Unrealistic illusions”
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, in a briefing to Israeli media, described calls for the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip launched by ministers in the Israeli government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as “delusions not linked to reality.”
Netanyahu claimed that Israel “does not work to displace the people of Gaza and resettle them in other places in the world.” Even if we wanted to, Israel does not have the ability to push the residents of Gaza to immigrate to another country,” he said, referring to legal restrictions. He explained that Israel does not negotiate with any country regarding the migration of Gaza’s residents, saying: Israel “must give up this approach. We are not in a vicious circle.” There are many in Israel who believe that there may be a willingness in Gaza for voluntary migration. There should be no illusions. “No country will accept the resettlement of Palestinians.”
It is known that Netanyahu had promised his ministers that he would establish a special team for this issue, but today he feels that this step will constitute a major political and legal dilemma, and will cause a clash with the administration of President Biden.
Displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip wait in line to get water (Reuters)
Two American figures
Since the beginning of the lobby’s work, there have been two American figures in its leadership: Professor Daniel Weibas, head of the Middle East Institute in Washington, known for his wide influence on issues of national security and combating terrorism. Gerg Roman, Director General of the aforementioned institute, is a former leader of Jewish institutions and worked as an employee in the Israeli Ministry of Defense and an advisor to the Israeli Foreign Minister. The declared goal of the lobby in this session is “to put an end to the Palestinian policy of rejection and prepare the atmosphere for ending the conflict with the Palestinians and stopping the bloodshed. This can only be achieved through negotiations after the Palestinians and their supporters admit defeat and lay down their arms.”
The lobby believes that the Israeli government and the American administration failed to settle the conflict during 30 years of negotiations. Because they “did not deal appropriately with the Palestinian policy of rejection, while American officials focused on imposing (painful concessions) on Israel, and they must now think again, and they must push the Palestinians towards recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and announce that they are abandoning the idea of annihilating Israel.”
Palestinians during their exodus from Gaza to the south at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip (AFP)
Similar to an American lobby
The Israeli lobby is a partner of a similar American lobby that has been established in Congress since 1988. It is led and cooperated with political figures in the American leadership, and is funded by American support. It should change its outlook and follow up on this activity and the extent of its influence on Israeli and American policy.
It seems that this widespread attack by the Israeli right to promote the voluntary deportation project is disturbing the American administration and many forces in Israel, who see it as implicating Israel in international forums politically and judicially. It is not a coincidence that after the end of the lobby meeting, high-ranking Israeli security officials leaked to the media saying that the army does not see a place for deportation, but rather that it recommends allowing residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes as part of the next phase of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Stressing that Israel will not be able to prevent them in light of the “legal and political” restrictions.
A political source in the opposition said: The call for deportation is no longer limited to a number of far-right ministers and representatives, but rather political, popular and academic forces in Israel and the United States stand behind it, and these forces are trying to give momentum to this project and refuse in any way to end the war with political settlements.
Displaced Palestinians cook in the temporary tent camp in the Al-Mawasi area in Gaza (AP)
“The day after the war”
The current displacement campaign is also not a coincidence, but rather came on the eve of deliberations to be conducted by the Israeli Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs, under pressure from the American administration, to discuss the issue of “the day after the war.”
Security services officials explained, according to Israeli Channel 13, that the security services are also preparing to present their visions. The position formulated by senior officials in the security establishment is that “subject to international legal and political conditions (aimed at mobilizing the international community to support Israel), Israel will not be able to prevent the residents of northern Gaza from returning to their areas.”
The channel indicated that the security services did not recommend a specific target date or date to begin allowing the return of displaced Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip to their areas, but senior officials in the security services say in deliberations with the Israeli political leadership: This must happen with the start of the third phase of the war. On Gaza.
The channel added, “Officials in the security services justify this position, among other things, by the fact that according to international law, residents cannot be evacuated from their homes indefinitely.” According to the channel, these estimates also come in light of the session held by the International Court of Justice in The Hague next week. To consider South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel regarding violation of the rules of war and committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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2024-01-04 23:24:11
