Israel seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip, according to a long-awaited post-war plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was swiftly rejected on Friday by Palestinian leaders and runs counter to Washington’s vision for the war-ravaged enclave.
Prime Minister Netanyahu presented the two-page document to his security cabinet late on Thursday for approval.
Deep disagreements over Gaza’s future have led to increasingly public friction between Israel and the US, its closest ally. The Biden administration seeks eventual Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood, an outcome opposed by Netanyahu and his Right-wing government. Netanyahu’s plan envisions hand-picked Palestinians in Gaza administering the territory.
Separately, ceasefire efforts appeared to gain traction, with mediators to present a new proposal at a high-level meeting in Paris. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been struggling for weeks to find a formula that could halt Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, but now face an unofficial deadline.
