WIREDGOV

EXPERT COMMENT

Israel appears to be planning to expand its operations to take military control of the whole Gaza Strip. Recognition of Palestine by France, the UK and others may be the last hope for a route to peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel will ‘take control of the entire Gaza Strip’. Shortly afterwards, he announced a plan to ‘intensify’ Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and to retain the territory that Israel has seized since the beginning of the war.

Netanyahu also gave the green light to allowing a ‘basic amount of food’ into the enclave. Following an 11-week blockade, the move comes amid growing international alarm at reports by humanitarian agencies over widespread hunger in Gaza, with UN General Secretary António Guterres posting that ‘The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious & beyond inhumane.’

It is unclear whether ‘taking control of Gaza’  is a temporary measure, but the renewed offensive, the mobilization on the ground and official statements suggest that Israel is heading towards a long-term military occupation of the Strip.  Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has even called on Israelis to embrace the word ‘occupation’.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.