7 months ago
24
JERUSALEM: Israeli PM
Netanyahu
was publicly challenged over post-war plans for the
Gaza
Strip on Wednesday by his own defence chief, who vowed to oppose any long-term military rule by Israel over the ravaged Palestinian enclave.
In a news conference,
defence minister
Yoav Gallant said that sinec soon after the conflict erupted on Oct 7, he had tried to promote a blueprint for an alternative Gaza administration made up of Palestinians.
Those efforts "got no response" from various decision-making cabinet forums under Netanyahu, said Gallant, who comes from the PM's Likud party. "I call on the PM to announce that Israel will not rule over Gaza militarily," Gallant said. "An alternative to
Hamas
governance should be established ... Indecision will erode the military gains (of the war)."
Following Gallant's remarks, Netanyahu said that any move to establish an alternative to Hamas as the govt of Gaza required that the Palestinian Islamist group first be eliminated, and demanded this goal be pursued "without excuses". Earlier, Netanyahu said Israel, if it achieves its goal of dismantling Hamas' govt and military apparatus in Gaza, would retain overall security control over the territory. He has stopped short of describing this scenario as an occupation. reuters
