menu_open
Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close
Aa Aa Aa
- A +

Netanyahu’s rivals tack toward a Gaza ‘day after’ without him

8 18
28.06.2024

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to Washington helps repair damage.

Follow this authorDavid Ignatius's opinions

Follow

Netanyahu’s governing coalition was also rocked internally from two directions this week. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jews shouldn’t be exempt from military service, a position that some members of his government support and others oppose. And Gallant pressed forward with postwar transition plans for Gaza, informally described as “the day after,” that Netanyahu doesn’t support.

Resolving the squabble over U.S.-Israeli arms shipments was important, not least because Gallant overcame the political flap his prime minister had created. Netanyahu had claimed in a June 18 video that the United States was deliberately slowing deliveries of major weapons, in addition to the announced delay of 2,000-pound bombs that President Biden fears would harm Palestinian civilians. Gallant and U.S. officials this week reaffirmed delivery of major arms shipments, from ammunition to engines for tanks and F-35 fighter jets.

Advertisement

After these discussions, a senior administration official spoke with reporters and thanked Gallant “for his professional approach to all issues of the security partnership between Israel and the United States.” The official “confirmed the movement of munitions and military systems to Israel,” aside from the 2,000-pound bombs.

The least visible, but perhaps most important, subject Gallant discussed during his visit was a detailed plan for postwar transition in Gaza. This plan would go forward even if Hamas continues to reject the cease-fire and hostage-release proposal the administration has struggled for months to advance.

The Gaza transition Gallant discussed in Washington would be overseen by a steering committee headed by the United States and moderate Arab partners. An international force — potentially including troops from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco — would oversee security, with U.S. troops providing command and control and logistics from outside Gaza, probably in Egypt. Gradually, a Palestinian force would take responsibility for local security.

Advertisement

Gallant and U.S. officials agree this Palestinian security force should probably be trained under an existing security assistance program for the Palestinian Authority, headed by Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, who’s based in Jerusalem as security coordinator for Israel and the authority. Gallant is reflecting the judgment of the Israeli defense establishment here, even though Netanyahu publicly has rejected a role for the Palestinian Authority in postwar Gaza.

U.S. officials told me they support the thrust of Gallant’s plan, but that moderate Arab governments won’t back it unless the Palestinian Authority is directly involved, conferring what Arabs would see as........

© Washington Post


Get it on Google Play