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Australia urges Israel not to ‘go down path’ of military control of Gaza
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Israel “not to go down this path”, after Israel’s security cabinet backed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan for a military takeover of Gaza City.
In a statement issued soon after the Israeli government’s announcement on Friday, Wong said the move “will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.
“A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace – a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally recognised borders,” she said.
Israeli opposition leader says move to occupy Gaza City a ‘disaster’
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has labelled a decision by Israel’s security cabinet to back Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters”.
Lapid said far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had “dragged Netanyahu into a move that will take many months, lead to the deaths of hostages and soldiers, cost tens of billions for the Israeli taxpayer, and result in a diplomatic collapse”.
“This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to be trapped in the territory without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a pointless occupation that no one understands where it is leading,” he said.
Gaza City occupation plan ‘formalises’ situation that exists on the ground
Rami Khouri, a distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera earlier that the plan to occupy Gaza City had been expected and the operation would likely not change the situation much from what exists currently on the ground in the war-torn enclave.
“Israel controls all of Gaza, from all the borders in the air and sea. It is already totally in control of anything that comes in and out of Gaza – the very little they allow in. So this just formalises, a little bit, the nature of the Israeli presence,” Khouri told Al Jazeera.
“It means they are going to go into some of the areas where there are still dense urban conglomerations of people in Gaza City and in the centre of the Strip,” Khouri said.
The plan is not “a big difference from the situation that already exists”, he said.
“Israel controls about 80, 85 percent of all of Gaza now,” he added.
The big difference is solidifying the plans to stay there. Which is exactly what prevents any ceasefire deal from happening, Israel is formalizing its occupation of Gaza, ruling out any retreat for a ceasefire.
