Likud Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli, and Likud MKs Moshe Saada, Boaz Bismuth, and Dan Illouz last Thursday presented their proposal for a decisive victory against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
אין זה סוד שעל ממשלת ישראל מופעלים לחצים בינ״ל כבדים שעשויים להסיט אותנו ממסלול ההכרעה. זה יכול להיות בשל ניהול לא נכון של היבטים אזרחיים והומניטרים או כתוצאה מאחיזה רופפת בשטח העשויים לאפשר לחמאס לשקם את כוחו.
נזכיר כי מטרת המלחמה העיקרית כפי שהוגדרה ע״י ממשלת ישראל היא השמדת… pic.twitter.com/okdrq6FhiG
— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) January 18, 2024
“For Hamas, survival as a governing body in the Strip or part of it, or as a functioning organizational framework, would be a sufficient reason to declare victory, even if it is done at a heavy price,” the four authors of the proposal write, adding, “The survival of Hamas in power would severely damage Israel’s deterrence and its regional standing, which could bring more military conflicts and thwart future normalization agreements. Therefore, it must be ensured that under any endgame scenario, Hamas will not have the ability to govern in the Strip.”
THIS IS THE PLAN’S ESSENTIAL GOALS
- Damage to most of Hamas’s battle-worthy units, which range between 30-40 thousand armed fighters. According to IDF estimates, more than 8,000 Hamas terrorists have been eliminated so far and together with the number of wounded and captives, it is estimated that Hamas lost at least 25% of its fighting force (see WSJ: Israel Eliminated Fewer than 30% of Hamas Terrorists). This is no small achievement, certainly if one adds the number of Hamas wounded and prisoners, but the campaign is far from over.
- A fatal blow to Hamas will not be achieved without an operational grip on the territory of the Gaza Strip, which will afford the IDF freedom of action similar to what it has in Judea and Samaria. To gain operational control in the field, the strip must be divided into the following areas:
a. Buffer space – a wide security perimeter, which includes a new line of outposts, along the entire length of the border.
b. Storm corridor – neutralize Hamas’s smuggling capability with a broad security corridor north of Rafah, which will also be a departure base for cleansing and destruction raids against Hamas infrastructures
north of the Khan Younis area and southward to Rafah.
c. Netzarim corridor – its purpose would be to enable treatment of the underground infrastructure of Hamas and its resistance nests in the northern Gaza Strip. The residents of the Gaza Strip should not be allowed to return to the north at least until the demolition of all the underground infrastructure and the complete demobilization of Hamas in the area.
d. De-escalation zones – deny Hamas the ability to control the civilian and humanitarian aspects of the Strip. As of now, Hamas, with the help of policing forces and UNRWA, still controls the civil and humanitarian aspects of the Strip, including its effort to renew governance in the north. To overthrow the rule of Hamas, we must deprive it of this ability. Creating de-escalation zones in which humanitarian aid will be delivered through international forces or IDF forces would frustrate Hamas’s ability to be a relevant governing factor and facilitate its demise.
LOOKING AHEAD – GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE DAY AFTER
- About 2.3 million people live in Gaza today, half of them under the age of 20, all of whom were educated in educational institutions of the Hamas movement, which combines religious fanaticism and Palestinian nationalism. This is an extremely hostile population, which will not change its face in the coming decades.
- In any future scenario, the State of Israel must prevent extreme nationalist elements from controlling the Strip, including the Palestinian Authority, whose leaders supported the October 7 massacre. If moderate local forces arise in the future or if moderate Arab countries are willing to take part in reconstruction efforts, it should be considered in due course.
- In any future scenario, the State of Israel must create a complete disconnection from the population of the Strip. Workers or goods will no longer be allowed to enter Israeli territory. Also, Israel must gradually stop the supply of water and electricity until it is completely cut off. As initial steps, we recommend the demolition and permanent closure of the Erez crossing, as well as reducing the goals of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories to the humanitarian aspects relevant to the laws of war only.
We recommend the rebuilding of the Rafah Crossing, which will be called “Shalom Crossing,” on the seamline between the Israeli perimeter and the Egyptian border, to give Israel the ability to supervise the goods entering the Gaza Strip until the objectives of the war are achieved.
