ALBAWABA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in danger of losing his weak government, so he has promised to slowly take over parts of the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn't agree to end the fighting within days. The move comes as his minority government, which has only 50 seats now that ultra-Orthodox parties quit, faces growing problems within the country and pressure from other countries.
Haaretz says the takeover plan seems to be less about security and more about making friends with far-right groups. In particular, it seems to be an attempt to make Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich happy, since his Religious Zionism party has threatened to leave the government if aid keeps coming into Gaza.
Netanyahu told his security cabinet about the plan on July 28. Hamas would have a short time to agree to a halt, and if they didn't, Israel would start taking over land, starting with buffer zones and then moving north. According to Channel 12, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer gave the plan to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Netanyahu said the White House showed approval. President Trump, on the other hand, was not at the meeting.
According to political expert Wissam Afifa, the move was a "political gamble." He said that Netanyahu is using annexation as a bargaining chip to keep his government together instead of a real security plan.
Netanyahu has been quietly told by Smotrich that he will judge him "by actions, not words." Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Hamas to be destroyed, Gaza to be fully occupied, and a lot of Palestinians to be forced to leave their homes.
Other far-right and Likud lawmakers have asked the defense minister to let people visit the borders of Gaza, calling it the "heartland of Israel." Some even said that "just as much as Tel Aviv does," Gaza is part of Israel.
The language shows that divisions are rising in Netanyahu's government, where far-right ministers are using the war to push for extreme territory goals.
Observers say that the danger of annexation shows that Israel's war goals have changed from beating Hamas to taking control of more land. After almost two years of war, famine, and siege, Gaza is now being talked about by the government as land that should be added to Israel, not just as a security problem.
According to researcher Firas Yaghi, the move is part of a larger plan for the United States and Israel to work together to change the area. He said that annexation could reduce the size of Gaza, force many of its people to move, and make security plans like those in the West Bank.
But Afifa called the plan a "admission of failure" because it shows that Israel can't do what it says it can do, which is to end Hamas's rule or get the prisoners back. He said that instead, Hamas could use the fear of annexation to get people around the world to oppose Israel's war and see it as an attempt to take over more land.
Effects on the law and relations
Any attempt to take over Gaza would have very bad legal effects. Under Israeli law, land that has been seized cannot be given back without the approval of 80 Knesset members or a national vote, which have never happened before.
Some people in Israel have also said that the plan is not possible. A minister told Haaretz that annexation was "not on the agenda." Avi Issacharoff, a security expert, called the threat "one of the dumbest empty threats I've heard" and said it would cause a backlash around the world without putting any pressure on Hamas.
On a global level, support for recognizing Palestine as a state is growing. Before the UN General Assembly in September, nine countries are expected to say they recognize the Palestinian Authority. French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have both said they will recognize the Palestinian Authority if Israel does not change its mind.
Legal experts say that any transfer would be against international law because Gaza is still controlled land even though Israel left it in 2005. The International Court of Justice has said that East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank are all controlled areas that are governed by the UN.
