PNN – After the Zionist regime’s failure to achieve its predetermined military goals and numerous twists and turns, the regime’s cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City within the framework of the more general plan to occupy the Gaza Strip.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Al Jazeera, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this Friday morning that the regime’s cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City as part of a more comprehensive plan to completely occupy the Gaza Strip.
The failure of Netanyahu’s military goals and the attempt to escape the Gaza quagmire
Netanyahu’s office added in a statement that the Israeli military was preparing to take control of Gaza City while also providing what it called humanitarian aid to civilians outside the war zones.
After the plan was approved, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Aharonot quoted Netanyahu as saying: The current form of the operation in Gaza has failed and has not led to the return of prisoners of war, and Israel wants to defeat Hamas, not perpetuate it.
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Netanyahu had previously said in an interview with Fox News that he had no intention of taking control of the Gaza Strip and that Israel wanted to hand it over to “Arab forces that do not pose a threat to Israel.”
The Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom also reported that the Israeli cabinet approved Netanyahu’s proposal to occupy Gaza after 10 hours of discussion. The Israel Radio and Television Corporation confirmed that the approval of the occupation of Gaza was made despite warnings from the army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir.
The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz also quoted an Israeli official as saying that the cabinet’s decision means that there is currently no intention to occupy the central camps in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi told Israel Radio that the plan approved by the Israeli government would lead to the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip.
Control or occupation of Gaza City?
Meanwhile, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Israeli cabinet did not use the word “occupation” of Gaza City, instead using “control” for legal reasons related to responsibility towards the civilian population. The newspaper quoted an Israeli official as saying that the main goal is to occupy Gaza and that “control” is merely the official definition.
The newspaper added that Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, has been the most vocal opponent of the Gaza occupation plan, and that there were fierce clashes between him and Netanyahu during a meeting of the political and security cabinet. Zamir emphasized in the meeting that there was no humanitarian solution to relocating a million people from Gaza City and that everything would be complicated.
The Israel Hayom newspaper also reported that Zamir believes that long-term control of Gaza will be difficult for the Israeli military. He acknowledged that the IDF’s reserve units are exhausted, and this will have tangible and difficult consequences.
Campaign around Gaza
American network NBC News reported, citing Israeli officials, that satellite images show Israel massing forces for a possible ground attack on Gaza. The network claimed that the images show new movements and formations of Israeli troops, indicating an imminent major ground operation against Gaza.
These developments come as the Israeli occupation army launched a new military operation called “Gideon’s Chariots” in the Gaza Strip last May. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that a number of Israeli security cabinet ministers believe that the operation has not achieved its goals.
The occupying army left more than 40 dead and dozens injured during Operation Gideon’s Chariots in June and July.
Zionist reaction to the Gaza occupation plan
According to Zionist media reports, Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich opposed the plan because it did not include a clause that would prohibit a halt to the war even if a prisoner exchange agreement was reached.
Israel’s Channel 12 also reported that Finance and Internal Security Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gwer voted against some provisions of the government’s resolution, including continuing the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
In contrast, Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition parties in the Israeli cabinet, called Netanyahu’s cabinet’s decision a “disaster” and said, “This is what Hamas wants.”
Reaction of Arab-Islamic and Western circles to the Gaza occupation plan
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the Israeli occupation regime’s decision to occupy Gaza City is a new crime of the regime and must be stopped immediately. In a telephone conversation with the King of Jordan and the President of Egypt, Mahmoud Abbas stressed the need to immediately stop Israel’s new plan against Gaza City.
The Egyptian presidency also announced that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in a telephone conversation with Mahmoud Abbas, emphasized the continuation of extensive efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, the arrival of humanitarian aid, and efforts to free the hostages. El-Sisi also stressed his country’s strong opposition to the plan to forcibly relocate Palestinians. The Egyptian president also warned against the new Israeli plan to completely evacuate Gaza City, calling it a war crime.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country condemns in the strongest terms the decision of the security cabinet of the occupying regime of Jerusalem regarding the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister also emphasized that we condemn Israel’s plan for illegal and illegitimate occupation of Gaza City and call for the immediate intervention of the international community to stop the Israeli aggression, ensure protection of civilians, and send humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation regime’s cabinet to completely occupy the Gaza Strip. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry described this decision as a clear violation of international law.
The Spanish Foreign Minister also condemned Israel’s decision to occupy Gaza, saying: This plan will only increase destruction and misery. The Danish Foreign Minister also called on Israel to abandon this decision.
Resistance groups warn the Zionist regime
Palestinian resistance groups have warned that they will pay a heavy price if Israel continues with its plan to completely occupy the Gaza Strip.
These groups emphasized in a statement that Gaza is not simply an empty geographical area looking for someone to fill it, but rather a land soaked in the blood of martyrs and fighters, and any attempt to directly occupy Gaza will be a new swamp that will burn whoever advances in it; the resistance will enter a stage of more difficult and painful confrontation against the enemy.