The Israel Cabinet has approved a plan to launch an “intensive” operation in Gaza and seize territory. Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remark that Israel is no longer afraid of the word “occupation”, puts the plan in perspective. Operation Gideon’s Chariots, expected to be set in motion after US President Donald Trump’s visit to West Asia this month, is a flawed plan that confirms the worst fears about Israel’s intentions in Gaza — that Tel Aviv wants to grab Palestinian territory and make survival there difficult for the local population. According to the new occupation plan, the surviving Palestinians will have to live in aid distribution hubs policed by private American contractors, who will provide the rations. All this sounds ominous and can result in a hardening of positions in a restive region.  

The Israel Cabinet has approved a plan to launch an “intensive” operation in Gaza and seize territory. Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remark that Israel is no longer afraid of the word “occupation”, puts the plan in perspective. Operation Gideon’s Chariots, expected to be set in motion after US President Donald Trump’s visit to West Asia this month, is a flawed plan that confirms the worst fears about Israel’s intentions in Gaza — that Tel Aviv wants to grab Palestinian territory and make survival there difficult for the local population. According to the new occupation plan, the surviving Palestinians will have to live in aid distribution hubs policed by private American contractors, who will provide the rations. All this sounds ominous and can result in a hardening of positions in a restive region.  

International diplomacy has been a big failure in Gaza. Israel has focused on military action — talks have been in limbo since a short ceasefire ended in March — rather than negotiate the handover of the remaining hostages in the custody of Hamas. The US, the only nation to have any leverage over Tel Aviv, has preferred to back Israel’s maximalist plans rather than end the military action: President Trump has gone quiet after his proposal to redevelop Gaza after relocating Palestinians faced outrage. The Arab nations, which had proposed a reasonable peace plan, have also not been able to pursue diplomacy with Israel. Palestine is not just a land but also a sentiment in West Asia, which is unlikely to disappear with the elimination of Hamas. Occupying Gaza is unlikely to make Israel secure; it may only increase the insecurity in the region and cost many more lives. The onus is on Israel’s friends to make Tel Aviv rethink its Gaza plan.