Netanyahu’s post-war plan for Gaza is dismissed as ‘genocide’: Israel calls for Hamas to be removed, complete demilitarization, no ‘unilateral recognition’ of a Palestinian state and UNRWA axed

Israel has outlined its first official ‘day after’ plan for the Gaza Strip, calling for the removal of Hamas, no ‘unilateral recognition’ of a Palestinian state and the closure of the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will maintain security control over all Palestinian territories and make the reconstruction of Gaza conditional on its demilitarization.

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry issued a blistering condemnation, saying the plans “represent a plan to prolong the genocide against our people” and show Israel is trying to buy more time to implement displacement plans.

The document proposes that Israel would retain security control over all land west of Jordan, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza – areas where the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state.

Netanyahu presented the plan yesterday to the security cabinet, which could still demand changes.

In the stated long-term goals, Netanyahu rejects the ‘unilateral recognition’ of a Palestinian state. He says a settlement with the Palestinians can only be reached through direct negotiations between the two sides – without naming who the Palestinian party would be.

People check the destruction caused by the overnight Israeli bombardment of Deir Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Friday

Search and rescue operations continue to reach injured and killed Palestinians on the ground after Israeli forces struck and destroyed a building belonging to a Palestinian family in Az-Zawayda, Deir al-Balah, Gaza on Friday.

In Gaza, Netanyahu outlines demilitarization and deradicalization as goals to be achieved in the medium term. It does not go into effect when that intermediate phase would start or how long it would last.

But he makes the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, much of which has been destroyed by the Israeli offensive, dependent on its complete demilitarization.

Netanyahu proposes that Israel maintain a presence on the Gaza-Egypt border in the south of the enclave and work with Egypt and the United States in that area to prevent smuggling attempts, including at the Rafah crossing.

To replace Hamas rule in Gaza while maintaining law and order, Netanyahu proposes working with local representatives “who are not affiliated with terrorist countries or groups and are not financially supported by them.”

He calls for the closure of UNRWA and its replacement with other international aid groups.

“The prime minister’s document of principles reflects the broad public consensus on the objectives of the war and on replacing Hamas rule in Gaza with a civilian alternative,” said a statement from the prime minister’s office.

The document was circulated among members of the security cabinet to spark a discussion on the issue.

The Palestinian Authority’s statement in response to the plans argues that Israel is using a blatant maneuver to threaten US and international efforts that link the end of the war and the release of hostages and prisoners to the resolution of the broader Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In addition, the PA called on the US and other Western countries to take decisive action, including recognizing Palestine as an independent state, assisting in UN membership and setting up an international peace conference.

It says these points are crucial to ending the occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination freely and in a dignified manner.

– This photo taken from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip shows clouds of smoke during the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis on Thursday

A Palestinian woman injured in an Israeli attack mourns the death of her sibling during the strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah on Thursday in the southern Gaza Strip.

The war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostage, according to Israeli counts.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and responded with an air and ground assault on blockaded Gaza, killing more than 29,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The offensive displaced most of the area’s population and caused widespread hunger and disease.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Reuters that Netanyahu’s proposal was doomed to failure, like all Israeli plans to change the geographic and demographic reality in Gaza.

“If the world is truly interested in security and stability in the region, it must end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and recognize an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.

The war in Gaza has revived international calls — including from Israel’s main backer, the United States — for the so-called two-state solution as the ultimate goal for resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, little progress has been made toward achieving Palestinian statehood. Among the obstacles to this are the expansion of Israeli settlements in areas Israel captured during the 1967 Middle East war.

Most countries view the settlements, which cut off Palestinian communities in many areas, as a violation of international law.

Israel claims a Biblical birthright to the land and said Thursday it would approve more than 3,000 new homes in settlements.