The long-going war between Israel and Gaza has been highlighted in the news for the past few months. With a new plan imposed by Israeli PM Netanyahu, let’s look at what this could mean for Palestine. 

Historical Context

To understand this war, we first need to go back to the early 20th century. The rise of Zionism, a movement to establish Jewish people in Palestine, resulted in a mass Jewish immigration to Palestine. In 1948, Israel officially declared independence, angering neighboring Arab states and displacing thousands of Palestinians. 

After a war between neighboring countries, an organization called Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed. Israel and the PLO negotiated in the 1990s to set forth a pact of peace, called the Oslo Accords. These agreements outlined Israel withdrawing troops from Gaza and the West Bank. However, peace efforts stalled and violence persisted. 

In 2006, an Islamist militant group called Hamas rose to power and has been governing Palestine to this day. This was not well received by Israel, who later imposed sanctions and blockades on Gaza. This blockade severely restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza. In other words, it almost became a prison. 

Over the years, these tensions have sparked even more and have resulted in the outright war we see today, with thousands of Palestinians being killed. 

What is Netanyahu’s Plan?

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has recently proposed a plan to completely demilitarize Palestine. According to CNN, this plan even extends to Gaza’s civil administration and education systems. This plan was distributed to Israel’s security cabinet for discussion. 

As of right now, Gaza shares a border with Egypt that entails some form of access in and out of the country. However, this new plan seeks to diminish that border altogether. This would cause Gaza to be a true enclave enclosed within Israel, allowing them to impose complete control of entry and exit. 

This plan has not been confirmed as to whether Egypt has agreed. For the time being, it is implied that the US is on board with this plan. 

For Gaza’s civil administration and education systems, Netanyahu plans to completely cut off Qatar’s funding to Gaza. The justification for this is that civil services “will not be identified with countries or entities that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them.” Even though Qatar is heavily implied here, it is unclear whether or not other countries apply as well. 

The plan also points out Gaza’s education systems, deeming them as creating antisemitic views and promoting hatred towards Israel. The UNRWA, an agency of the United Nations, is currently running education in Gaza. Israel accuses members of the UNRWA of being in cooperation with Hamas and their attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people. 

Will This Plan be Passed?

The short answer is no. Many key parties such as the US and Egypt oppose this bill, rejecting many aspects of this plan. Not only that, but the task of basically eradicating everything in Gaza and rebuilding it, proposed by Netanyahu, is simply too big. This consists of getting rid of the UNRWA which the PM dislikes as well as other major complications. 

Netanyahu’s main priority seems to be about hostage situations. Many countries, including the US, hope that peace talks will ensue as that will stop any massacres from happening. If the hostage situations get any worse, however, then the death toll is expected to rise to perhaps even 30,000. Only time will reveal the future of Gaza and Palestinians.