Netanyahu: Gaza as Middle Eastern Singapore Israel's 'day-after' plan for Gaza

NOTE: Middle East Eye published my latest article: Biden’s Humanitarian Aid Plan is a Sham. Please give it a read.

Israel has released its “day-after” proposal for future administration Gaza. I’ve translated the document in full here:

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The Day-After Hamas

Principles

Near-term goals

Necessary conditions to achieve the day-after goal:

The IDF will continue the war until its goals are achieved: destroying the military capabilities and the governing infrastructure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad; return of the hostages; restraining any threat from Gaza for some time to come.

Medium-term

The security level

1. Israel will maintain operational freedom in all of Gaza, without conditions, in order to prevent renewal of terror and to thwart terror threats from Gaza.

2. The buffer zone in Gaza will be maintained as long as there is a security need.

3. Israel will maintain a southern closure on the Egypt-Gaza border [sic], as is necessary, with the cooperation of Egypt and the support of the US based on capabilities to prevent land-based or underground smuggling from Egypt, including the Rafah crossing.

4. Israel will maintain security control over all [Palestinian] territory west of the Jordan, including Gaza (land, air, sea, communications) in order to prevent the strengthening of terror forces in the West Bank and Gaza and to prevent threats against Israel.

5. Israel will totally disarm any military capabilities in Gaza excluding those needed to maintain public order.

Civilian level

1. To the extent possible, civilian rule and responsibility for public order in Gaza will be based on local personnel with administrative experience. These local individuals will not be identified with countries or bodies supporting terror and will receive no funding from them.

2. A comprehensive de-radicalization program will be promoted in all religious, educational and social welfare institutions–to the extent possible with the involvement and aid of Arab states which have experience with such programs.

3. Israel will act to dismantle UNRWA, whose staff were involved in 10/7 and whose schools taught terror and the eradication of Israel. Israel will act to end the activities of UNRWA and its replacement with international aid agencies which would assume responsibility.

4. Any rebuilding in Gaza will be permitted only after completion of disarming [Gaza] and beginning of the deradicazation program. The rebuilding program will be done with funding from, and approved by Israel.

Long-Term

Essential principals for future arrangement

1. Israel categorically rejects any international diktat regarding a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians. Such a deal will only be reached via direct negotiations between the parties without pre-conditions.

2. Israel continues to opposes a one-sided [i.e international] recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in light of the 10/7 massacre awards a huge gift for unprecedented terror which will prevent any future peace deal.

If there were any chance of genuine negotiation or compromise regarding these provisions, one would say that it represents Israel’s maximal position.  However, since that is not possible given Israeli rejectionism and the impotency of the US and its European allies in the face of genocide, this is likely the plan that Israeli will implement with little or no opposition from outside parties.

The plan marks a continuation of the six-month genocide Israel has pursued. The only differences are cosmetic.  Some of these provisions are within Israel’s power to implement unilaterally. The plan assigns obligations (without consent) to outside parties such as Arab states or international humanitarian aid groups.  Virtually, none of them are credible or realizable.  For example, no Arab country will implement a de-radicalization program in Gaza. Nor will any other aid group agree to replace UNRWA.  Nor will any Gazan agree to provide administrative services for the enclave as an Israeli collaborator.

One is tempted to declare this plan a non-starter in its entirety.  But it is certain that Israel will do what is in its control: it will eliminate 20% of its territory for a “buffer zone.”  It will prevent return of Gazans to northern Gaza. It will maintain an indefinite/permanent military presence inside Gaza.  It will prevent UNRWA from functioning in Gaza. Given that other aid groups will not agree to take its place, this will leave Gazans continuing to starve to death in massive numbers.

Most genocides have a beginning and an end. Israel’s genocide is unique in the annals of modern history in that it could last years and even decades without any intervention to stop it. By the time it does end there may be no more Gazans in Gaza.

Gaza: the next Singapore

It’s a cruel and bitter irony that liberal Zionists and colonial apologists have been touting Gaza as a new “Singapore” for the past 50 years.  The screenshot features a headline for a NY Times letter to the editor of 1988, offering an early example of the genre.

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But this current article (see headline screenshot) by an Israeli journalist known as a stenographer for both the IDF and Netanyahu, took it to a whole new level.  The prime minister’s proposal tasks Arab states with investing “tens of billions” to rebuild Gaza. It’s characteristic of Israeli chutzpah to task others with fixing problems it caused; and spending the money of friends on behalf of its own interests.  The “plan” also calls on international bodies to administer Gaza. Doing so will somehow magically turn it into a new Singapore with trade relations with the world, tourism and high-tech projects. If one didn’t know this was a serious piece, one would think it was satire a la Swift’s Modest Proposal (to eat starving Irish children to solve the famine).

It is hard to imagine the Gaza Strip becoming the tiny, shiny country in East Asia, but this is the vision that Netanyahu is promoting behind the scenes. The idea: complete severance from Israel and connection to the world through a maritime corridor to Cyprus and a land crossing to Egypt; tens of billions of dollars of Emirates investment in  reconstruction, tourism, and hi-tech projects; and a civil government based on international bodies. The evidence is there on the beach where a pier was set up to unload humanitarian aid. But a lot of persuasion and execution will be required for the dream to become a reality.

“Hard to imagine” indeed. Even for Netanyahu, who is known as a fantasist and charlatan, this goes above and beyond. It is pure delusion.  He is no fool, so he knows this “vision” is preposterous. It is yet another attempt to distract from genocide by telling the world: look–you see I do have a positive vision for a Gaza future. This story shows the utter cruelty of the Israeli premier: willing to exploit Gaza’s suffering via his lies and delusions.

Bibi’s Singapore plan isn’t original.  It’s a regurgitation of the same ones advanced for decades.  He’s changed a few minor details and repackaged as a humanitarian vision for Gaza.  This only amplifies his cynicism.

This is a variant on the theme: Jared Kushner extolling the extraordinary value of Gaza “beachfront property.”  Everything is a transaction. Even the existence of 2.5-million people who are an impediment to deal-making. Clear them out of the way. Erase them. Bulldoze the Negev and dump them there.  He’s stupid enough not to realize that the Negev is within Israel. This would make them Israeli citizens. If not citizens, it would render them stateless: millions of unwanted Palestinians in Israel itself.  I’m sure Israeli Jews would welcome such a plan!

Once the Gazans are gone, Kushner would sweep away the mess they created, filling it with luxury towers and all the accoutrements of “modern” (ie. western) life.

Where did he deliver this stirring encomium to western capitalism? At Harvard, of course.  One of our most distinguished institutions of higher learning offering a platform for genocide and profit.

Here is yet another recent example of the genre offered by two Israelis:

The territory could be run and policed by a coalition of Western states or, arguably more preferable, a grouping of Arab countries, perhaps made up of Israel’s new Gulf allies and Egypt….Under a protectorate, it would be possible to transform Gaza into an economically viable entity…With a responsible authority in charge, international assistance and investment could be channeled into the construction of infrastructure, housing, educational facilities, and job-creation, without fear of funds being misused or squandered.

…[Gazans] would probably be relieved that extremists in their ranks would not be able to jeopardize their lives, as Hamas did…

Note, Israelis have no end of uninvited advice for Palestinians. They apparently know what they think; or what they should think; or would think if they were obedient serfs. They also know what is in Palestinians’ best interest, and will be happy to tell them so. Again, uninvited.  Everyone has plans for Gaza except the Gazans themselves, who are too busy dying to notice.

Netanyahu’s Rafah invasion plan

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Israel has warned the world that it plans to invade Rafah. Its goal is a Final Solution for the Gaza “problem“: including the eradication of Hamas. Numerous times over the past few months it has warned that an invasion was imminent.  But one has not materialized so far.  Some have speculated that this is a bluff designed to intimidate Hamas into accepting an agreement favorable to Israel. Others believe it’s only a matter of time.

The US and the main mediator, Qatar, have assisted this campaign of intimidation by suggesting Hamas is to blame by refusing the deal it has been offered; or that the movement’s leaders will be expelled from Qatar unless they acquiesce to an Israel-centric accord.  This conveniently ignores that such deals are generally not imposed by one party on another.  Those which are (ie. World War I), usually fail and lead to far greater bloodshed.  Agreements are negotiated.  Each side puts forward its demands and proceeds to compromise in order to achieve consensus.  Israel, the US and their allies believe they have the power and leverage to avoid compromise, given Hamas’ alleged weakness under current conditions.  But clearly, Hamas is not defeated and cannot be defeated.  Thus the Israeli negotiating position is unrealistic and untenable.

Netanyahu claims he has approved a Rafah invasion plan.  But he has not revealed any of its provisions. It has only said that in preparation for it, it will create “humanitarian islands” for Rafah refugees before fighting commences.  This is classic Israeli smoke and mirrors coinage.  Islands sounds secure and safe.  Add “humanitarian” to it and it sounds like a veritable paradise. The reality is that they will become yet another killing zone.

Israel has done nothing to create such refuges.  Even if it did, it’s questionable whether Gazans would migrate to them, given prior wide-scale violence against those fleeing northern Gaza to the south earlier in the war. Thus, if Israel does invade, the 1.5-million sheltering there will be directly in the line of fire.  Instead of the current 31,000 Gaza dead, that number could double or triple in a matter of weeks.

Pres. Biden has not opposed such plans, just as he has not opposed the ongoing genocide.  He has merely warned that Israel must not commence such operations without a plan for minimizing civilian casualties and removing them from harm’s way.  US officials realize (or should realize) that Israel has no intention of doing so.  Protecting civilians is not in the Israeli lexicon.  Thus, Biden is left with a dilemma: if Israel invades and the casualty count rises massively, as is inevitable what, if any action will he take?

There is strong support among Americans for stopping weapons exports to Israel, though Biden has refused to do so.  Will tens of thousands more dead persuade him to show more spine?  His only response thus far is to sanction several individual Israeli settlers.  He has not imposed any economic sanctions, though his executive order mandates it.  He has not sanctioned any of a score of settler groups which fund and fuel the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.  He has not sanctioned any companies or financial institutions which do business in settlements and benefit from the Occupation. Nor has he sanctioned the most powerful elements of the settler movement: political leaders like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Unless he takes all of these steps and more, Biden is all bluster and no substance.  Israel senses this and acts with impunity.  As long as Biden remains in thrall of the Israel Lobby, US policy will remain ineffectual.