Israel is set to try a novel approach for administering postwar Gaza, establishing “bubbles” intended to be free of Hamas influence, The Financial Times reported on Monday, noting that this plan has been met with skepticism from many in Israel’s security establishment.
On Sunday I cited here a Wall Street Journal report that reminded me of the “Palestinian emirates” plan proposed by Orientalist Dr. Mordechai Kedar to establish city-state emirates, based on the structure of Arab society which is hyper-local and tribal.
The WSJ on Saturday reported that Israel is preparing to establish something reminiscent of Dr. Kedar’s plan in Gaza. According to the report, some officials are proposing a strategy to establish designated zones or enclaves where Gazan civilians who are not affiliated with Hamas could find temporary refuge while Israeli forces continue operations against remaining terrorists (Report: Israel Planning to Carve Up Gaza into Separate Zones).
According to the FT, the experimental program, which envisions creating “humanitarian enclaves,” is slated to begin soon in Gaza’s northern areas of Atatra, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia. This initiative is seen as a prototype for Israel’s vision of postwar Gaza management, according to six sources familiar with the strategy.
Despite the IDF’s imminent launch of these pilot zones, there’s widespread doubt about their feasibility. Challenges include fierce opposition from Hamas, disagreements within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet on the specifics, and lukewarm support from Arab nations.
One insider privy to the plan dismissed it as a “fantasy” project.
The proposed plan involves Israeli forces channeling humanitarian aid from the Erez crossing in the north to approved Arab locals. These individuals would be responsible for distributing the aid and progressively taking on more civilian governance duties in the area. Initially, Israeli military personnel would maintain security oversight.
If this approach proves effective, Israel intends to gradually extend these zones southward throughout Gaza. This strategy aims to supplant Hamas’s governance, which has been in place for nearly 20 years. An insider familiar with Israeli strategy suggested that this plan could also serve as leverage in the ongoing, difficult negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with Hamas.
The Financial Times also reported that violent confrontations broke out in central Gaza last week between Hamas security forces and members of a prominent local clan. The conflict arose after Hamas executed the leader of the Abu Amra family, accusing him of being open to Israeli proposals. This information comes from a Gaza-based security source.
In an official statement released last Tuesday, Hamas declared it would prevent any entity from meddling in Gaza’s future. The group also stated its intention to “cut off any hand of the occupation attempting to manipulate the fate and future of our people.”
In Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando) recounts a disturbing incident during his service in Vietnam. He describes how his unit provided vaccinations to local children, believing they were offering humanitarian aid. However, they later found that members of the Viet Cong had amputated the vaccinated arms of these children.
Kurtz offers this shocking anecdote as evidence of the extreme dedication of the Vietnamese to their cause. In his view, this willingness to harm even their own children demonstrated the depths of their commitment to resisting the American occupation forces. The story serves as part of Kurtz’s justification for his own brutal methods and his descent into what others perceive as madness.
One thing was sure about Brando’s character in the movie, he would never have wasted his time on humanitarian experiments.
