Foreign Minister Yair Lapid laid out his detailed plan to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip through economic and diplomatic means in an address to the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism Conference at Reichman University on Sunday.
“We need to start a
large, multiyear process of economy for security,” he said.
Lapid rejected the
dichotomy that Israel can either reconquer Gaza or continue to engage in
periodic rounds of war against Hamas and other terrorist groups in the coastal
enclave that Israel evacuated in 2005.
“Those are two bad
options,” he said. “That’s not a reality we can accept.”
Instead, Israel should
advance the “economy for security” formulation without negotiating with Hamas,
he added. “Israel doesn’t speak to terrorist organizations who want to destroy
us,” which puts pressure on the group that controls Gaza.
“We need to tell Gazans
at every opportunity: Hamas is leading you to ruin,” Lapid said. “No one will
come and invest real money, and no one will try to build an economy in a place
from where Hamas fires and that Israel strikes on a regular basis.”
An Israeli plan to
improve life in Gaza if Hamas lays down its arms is a way to put pressure on
Hamas and end the “absurd situation” in which an antisemitic terrorist
organization attacks Israeli civilians and Israel is blamed for it, he said.
That process will take
years and will be backed up by the IDF’s might, Lapid said.
“Our position of strength allows us to
initiate instead of sitting and waiting for the next round,” he said.
The foreign minister
also vowed that Israel bringing back the soldiers and civilians held in Hamas
captivity is part of his plan, which has two stages.
First would come the
humanitarian rebuilding of Gaza in exchange for an effort, coordinated with the
international community, to stop Hamas’s military build-up.
“The electricity system
will be repaired, gas will be connected, a water desalination plant will be
built, significant improvements to the healthcare system and a rebuilding of
housing and transportation infrastructure will take place,” Lapid said. “In
exchange, Hamas will commit to long-term quiet.”
The international
community would have to use its influence to ensure that quiet and stop Hamas
from arming itself, including preventing smuggling and an oversight mechanism
to stop humanitarian funds from getting to the terrorist group that threatens
Israeli civilians.
Without that oversight,
Israel will not allow funds to be invested in Gaza.
During this stage,
Israel would maintain control of electricity and water in Gaza. Only long-term positive results would yield energy
independence.
The Palestinian
Authority would go back to being responsible for crossings into Gaza, except
for Rafah, which is controlled by Egypt. Egyptian support is critical for the
process, Lapid said.
More on this at https://tinyurl.com/sbrv3985
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