Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he would not permit Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza following Tel Aviv’s war on the enclave.
"As I promised, the day after the war in Gaza, neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will be there,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
The Israeli prime minister said he is "committed to (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump’s plan to create a different Gaza.”
Trump has repeatedly called for taking over Gaza and resettling its population to redevelop it into what he called "the Riviera of the Middle East.” The idea has been vehemently rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Netanyahu has rejected any role for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority in running post-war Gaza. Palestinians, however, reject any alternative governance arrangements imposed by Israel.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for his part, called on Netanyahu to resume the Israeli war on Gaza.
"I call on the Prime Minister to immediately announce the return of the Israeli army to combat, to occupy 10% of the Gaza Strip, and to impose sovereignty over it," said Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party.
"The residents of Gaza will only be able to leave in one direction – with no possibility of return," he said, referring to Trump’s displacement plan.
Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also said he would reverse his resignation from the government if the war resumed.
"If you return to war, stop humanitarian aid, fuel, and electricity – so that not a single crumb enters Gaza until the last of our hostages returns – if you do this, we will not only return to the government, but the entire people and the right wing will support you."
The Israeli Security Cabinet is set to convene on Monday evening to discuss negotiations regarding the second phase of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
The ceasefire deal has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, pausing Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
