JERUSALEM: Israel’s military will “take control” of Gaza City under a new plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet, touching off a wave of criticism Friday (Aug 8) from both inside and outside the country.
Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a truce to pull the territory’s more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Israel’s foe Hamas denounced the plan to expand the fighting as a “new war crime”, while staunch Israeli ally Germany took the extraordinary step of halting military exports out of concern they could be used in Gaza.
Under the newly approved plan to “defeat” Hamas, the Israeli army “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones”, the premier’s office said Friday.
Before the decision, Netanyahu had said Israel planned to seize complete control of the Gaza Strip, but did not intend to govern it.
“We don’t want to keep it,” the premier told US network Fox News on Thursday, adding Israel wanted a “security perimeter” and to hand the Palestinian territory to “Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us”.
Israel occupied Gaza from 1967, but withdrew its troops and settlers in 2005.
Netanyahu’s office said a majority of the security Cabinet had adopted “five principles”, including demilitarisation of the territory and “the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority”.
The new plan triggered swift criticism from across the globe, with China, Turkey, the UK and the UN’s rights chief issuing statements of concern.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the plan must be “immediately halted”. He said that Israel should instead allow “the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid” and Palestinian armed groups must unconditionally release hostages.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP.
“The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire,” they added.
In a major shift, meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced his country was halting military shipments to Israel, saying it was “increasingly difficult to understand” how the new plan would help achieve legitimate aims.
“Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice,” he said.
Asked in an interview with Reuters about criticism of Israel’s decision to escalate the war, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee questioned why some nations were “once again” placing “all the pressure on Israel” instead of on Hamas.
Huckabee said Trump was frustrated that Hamas is unwilling to reach “any kind of reasonable settlement”, adding the president insists that the militant group cannot remain in power and must disarm.
