Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad on Thursday night presented the outline of his initial plan for the “day after” after the war in the Gaza Strip, which foresees that there will be “neither Hamas” nor “an Israeli political administration » in the Palestinian enclave.

He unveiled the rough outlines of that plan to the press before submitting it to the wartime government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been divided in recent days over what course to take in the war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since in 2007.

The disclosure of the Galland plan was made on the eve of a new tour in the Middle East by the head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, with the main purpose of preventing the scenario of the spread of the Israel/Hamas war.

According to the plan, military operations in the Gaza Strip “will continue” until the “return of hostages”, the “destruction of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities” and the “elimination of military threats”.

Then a new phase will begin, the “next day” of the war, during which “Hamas will not control Gaza,” states the plan, which still does not have a stamp of government approval.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed on Monday that Jewish settlers return to the Gaza Strip after the war and that the Palestinian population be “encouraged” to “immigrate”, following a similar proposal by another far-right minister in the Netanyahu government, Bezalel Smotrich ( Finance). The statements of the two ministers caused intense reactions internationally.

“There will be no Israeli political presence in the Gaza Strip after the war’s objectives have been achieved,” Mr. Gallant said yesterday, adding that the Israeli army would still maintain “freedom of action” in the enclave to counter any “threat.”

“The people of Gaza are Palestinians. Consequently, Palestinian entities will take over, provided there is no hostile action or threat against the state of Israel,” the Israeli defense minister said, without clarifying exactly who among the Palestinians he expects to take over. enclave of 2.4 million inhabitants.

In recent weeks, analysts have referred to various scenarios, including the return to the Gaza Strip after the war of Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, whose headquarters are in the occupied West Bank.

However, according to a recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Political Research and Polling (PCPSR), an independent institute in Ramallah, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Palestinians surveyed expect Hamas to retain control of the Gaza Strip after the fighting ends. . 11% foresee a government of the Palestinian Authority, but without Mahmoud Abbas, only about 7% a government under the latter.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohamed Stageh argued in favor of finding a “political solution for all of Palestine,” not just the Gaza Strip.

Some “continue to talk about the ‘next day’, about the Palestinian Authority ruling again in Gaza”, however Israel “wants to politically separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank”, he said.

He added: “We have to look at the timetable and delete 2024 (…) I don’t think Israel will leave Gaza very soon, I think rather that Israel will create its own civilian administration that will operate under the direction of the military possession. Consequently, the issue of ‘the next day’ is not clear” at present.