Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.
Israel’s plans for the Gaza Strip are becoming increasingly clear. Zionist pro-war propaganda relies on the narrative of a supposed “fight against Hamas” to convince public opinion, but Israeli officials are becoming explicit in their statements, making it clear that the “problem” they see in the region goes beyond of Hamas, having a dissatisfaction with the Palestinian control over that territory.
In a recent statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas has already lost territorial control of northern Gaza, adding that Zionist forces will remain in the region after the end of hostilities. According to Netanyahu, Tel Aviv will not allow Palestinians to teach their children to “hate Israel”, which is why there will be Zionist forces in the Strip to “supervise” the Gazans’ attitudes.
“There is no substitute for victory. We will eliminate Hamas and save our hostages (…) The IDF has completed the encirclement of Gaza City. They are on the outskirts of Shifa Hospital and have killed a lot of terrorists (…) Hamas has lost control in the north of the Gaza Strip. They have no safe place to hide. We will not stop until the mission is completed. We are doing everything to be worthy of their sacrifice and heroism. [Gaza] will not be a civil authority there that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, or to eliminate Israel. There cannot be an authority who didn’t condemn the massacre. There will have to be something else, but in any case [it will be under] our security control. I stand by it and don’t intend to give up”, he said at a press conference on November 11th.
By saying that there will be no “civil authority” in Gaza, Netanyahu contradicted his own words, as a few days earlier the prime minister had mentioned that Israel’s objective was only to “demilitarize” – and not “govern” Gaza.
“What we have to see is Gaza demilitarized, deradicalized and rebuilt (…) We don’t seek to conquer Gaza. We don’t seek to occupy Gaza. And we don’t seek to govern Gaza”, he said on the 9th. However, on the same occasion he also said that the IDF should “enter Gaza and kill the killers [at any time, to] prevent the emergence of another Hamas-like entity.”
Apparently, Netanyahu is getting more and more explicit in his plan for Gaza. It is clear that the aim of the war against the Palestinians is not simply to defeat Hamas, but to ensure full Israeli control over the Palestinian-majority territories. By talking about not allowing a civil authority in Gaza and by calling for IDF readiness to enter Gaza and kill Palestinians at any time, Netanyahu is promising that the Gazans will not have the right to self-determination or the creation of self-defense militias. In other words, he is admitting that his war in Gaza is a war of occupation against the Palestinians.
There is nothing really “new” in what Netanyahu said, but it is noteworthy because of its explicitness. So far, the Zionist propaganda machine has managed to garner some support for the war because the excuse used by the Western media is a supposed “need” to “defeat Hamas.” However, with Zionist officials openly talking about maintaining the illegal occupation, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify support for Tel Aviv in the eyes of the Western public.
For this reason, American officials asked Netanyahu for clarification about his speech. On the 12th, Israeli TV channels, citing unidentified American sources, stated that Netanyahu’s words left American decision-makers “perplexed.” According to Kan, a state-owned Israeli TV network, American partners are demanding explanations from Netanyahu about what exactly he is referring to when he talks about controlling Gaza after the conflict.
Recently some frictions of this type have occurred. For example, John Kirby, spokesman for US National Security, stated that the US is against an Israeli occupation of Gaza. Obviously, the US does not support Palestine, but Washington’s position is based on a rational pro-Israel strategy. The more occupation of Palestinian territory, the more conflict there will be – and therefore the more difficult it will be for Americans to continue helping the Zionist state.
What is happening is a clash of different views on what is best for Israel. Westerners support a more “humanitarian” solution for Gaza because they need to reconcile their unrestricted Zionism with the values spread in their propaganda machine. On the other hand, a more radical Israeli wing defends a final solution, with ethnic cleansing and military occupation. And the more Tel Aviv becomes explicit in its alignment to this radical view, the more its international isolation increases.
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