Israeli security cabinet approves Netanyahu's plan to seize Gaza Strip

To materialise the plan to capture the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured approval from Israel’s security cabinet for his five principles, which include “Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip” and the establishment of a new civilian administration to govern the enclave.

Despite expressing zero interest in governing Gaza, Netanyahu wants full control over the strip and is also willing to impose his own choice of governing body, excluding Gazans. 

The Israeli premier also expressed confidence in the security forces of Arab countries, stating, “It’s not possible for Hamas to provide a good life to Gazans.”

The development came on Friday, when Israel’s security cabinet adopted the government’s controversial plan of seizing and governing the Gaza Strip as part of five principles aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Read: Israeli Knesset passes symbolic motion on West Bank annexation, Muslim countries react strongly

According to CNN, the five principles for Gaza are:

1. Disarming Hamas
2. Returning all hostages, living and dead
3. Demilitarising Gaza
4. Establishing Israeli control in Gaza
5. Creating a civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

“A decisive majority of Security Cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages,” the office said.

However, it remains unclear who originally formulated these five principles.

Prior to the meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu showed zero interest in governing Gaza, stating that “we want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life – that’s not possible with Hamas.”

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Earlier, on July 25, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, approved a non-binding motion in favour of annexing the West Bank.

The motion approved by the majority of 71-13 votes demands Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. 

Israel believes the annexation will “strengthen the state of Israel, its security and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland”.

It was proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, is symbolic in nature and carries no immediate legal consequences. However, it could prompt future parliamentary discussions on the topic of annexation.

The proposal was originally introduced last year by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich.