Who can Israel leave the ruins of Gaza to, once the bulk of its military operations have been completed? As far as Israel's army is concerned, the matter has been settled since January. Behind closed doors, its general staff has been pleading with the country's government for over four months, calling on it to put the finishing touches to its troops' efforts. The generals have been requesting the re-establishment of a Palestinian civilian government in the territory, which would partly relieve them of the responsibility of ensuring the survival of two million displaced persons. To no avail. On Wednesday, May 15, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant finally expressed this impatience publicly.
A retired general, Gallant took his prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to task. He claimed that, by refusing to define a political outcome to the war, the leader of his Likud party was forcing his country to make an impossible choice: Either accept Hamas' reconstitution of its rule in what remains of the Gaza Strip, or re-establish Israeli military rule there. A regime akin to that which had administered the territory from its conquest in 1967 to the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, in the wake of the Oslo Accords.
"The 'day after Hamas' will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors, establishing a governing alternative to Hamas's rule. This, above all, is an interest of the State of Israel," argued Gallant, without going so far as to name the only possible alternative: The PA, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, which no Israeli elected official has dared to mention as a potential partner.
"Military rule in Gaza would become the main security and military effort of the State of Israel over the coming years, at the expense of other arenas. The price paid would be bloodshed and victims, as well as a heavy economic price," warned the minister.
Gallant deplored the fact that the prime minister has been putting off any debate on this political dimension of the war since October 7, ignoring the general staff's initial recommendations. For the past week, Israeli top brass have been conveying this message themselves, speaking to Israeli journalists on condition of anonymity.
They are putting pressure on the prime minister at a time when the ongoing negotiations with Hamas, aimed at reaching a ceasefire and securing the release of hostages, are once again at a standstill. The top brass have set out to dispel the myth of a "total victory," a purely military one, that Netanyahu has been promising since February. They have also sought to prevent the prime minister from taking advantage of the Israeli army's resumption of ground operations in the territory to further delay any decision.
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