During a tense meeting Thursday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was willing to have a “real meeting” in the security cabinet about Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s vision for Gaza after the war, according to Hebrew media reports.
Other ministers reportedly attacked Gallant at the meeting over his demand Wednesday that Netanyahu rule out Israeli military rule in the Palestinian enclave after the war.
The Israel Hayom daily said Gallant’s plans for the “day after” in Gaza include providing weapons to local figures tied to the Palestinian Authority with international oversight. He said it was in Israel’s best interests for Gaza to be governed by non-Hamas Palestinian entities, accompanied by international actors.
The report claimed that Gallant’s plan, backed by the defense establishment, would include providing these groups with guns, which would be electronically monitored by Israel to prevent them being used by Hamas, and would be part of an overall international effort to help govern the Strip led by Arab nations and backed by the US.
Explaining his stance during the cabinet meeting, Gallant warned Israeli military rule in Gaza would require massive forces.
“We’ll pay for it with many lives, and in the end, we’ll withdraw from the territory and leave it to the Palestinians. Military rule will mean loss of life and neglecting other fronts,” he was quoted as saying.
According to a report cited by the Ynet news site, the price tag of running a military government in Gaza would be an estimated NIS 20 billion (around $5.4 billion) per year. In addition, Israel would have to shell out a yet-to-be-determined amount on rebuilding and repairing infrastructure in the enclave.
The report also stated that 400 people would be needed to staff the military government and five IDF divisions would have to remain in Gaza, requiring Israel to shrink the number of troops on the northern border and in the West Bank, as well as necessitate a significant increase in the deployment of reservists on operational duty.
Gallant was backed Thursday by minister Benny Gantz, who supported his statement on Wednesday and told the cabinet that “civil rule in Gaza has far-reaching security, economic, and diplomatic benefits.”
However, other ministers attacked Gallant, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir having said that he didn’t understand “how the defense minister allows himself to speak like this when he knows the majority of the cabinet is against him on the day after plan.”
Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a close Likud ally of Netanyahu’s, charged that Gallant regularly did not show up for cabinet meetings, adding that “it’s a shame we had to hear this in the press.”
Though not part of the cabinet, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi of Likud also weighed in, days after attending a rally calling for the reestablishment of settlements in Gaza.
“At this sensitive time, the leadership must work for the good of the public not to coddle the media or gain an imaginary fan base,” said Karhi. Anyone who is willing to sell their people and their soldiers to cruel foreigners and even put weapons in their hands, defiles the purity of thought and is not suitable to be a leader of their ‘people.'”
Gallant responded that he has a “public responsibility to explain the situation if we’re going in a dangerous direction for Israel’s security,” before eventually walking out of the meeting amid the criticism.
The security cabinet meeting came after Netanyahu said earlier Thursday that he will soon speak face-to-face with Gallant. While visiting an area close to the Gaza border, Netanyahu was asked by a reporter if he still trusts Gallant and whether they can still work together. He responded evasively.
“If you’re talking about what the defense minister said yesterday, then what I have to say to him I’ll first say one-on-one, and not here,” he said.
Netanyahu’s public disagreement with Gallant came about after the premier dismissed any discussions of the “day after” in Gaza as meaningless until Hamas is defeated.
Hours later, in a televised address, the defense minister told Netanyahu that he must take “tough decisions” to advance non-Hamas governance of Gaza, whatever the personal or political cost because the gains of the war are being eroded and Israel’s long-term security is at stake.
Gallant warned in his address that he will not consent to Israeli civil or military governance of Gaza, and that governance by non-Hamas Palestinian entities, accompanied by international actors, is in Israel’s interest.
Netanyahu quickly retorted that he was “not prepared to switch from Hamastan to Fatahstan,” referencing the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.”
In the wake of Gallant’s statement, some right-wing lawmakers have urged Netanyahu to fire the defense minister for what would be the second time in 14 months.