Gallant to PM: Reject Israeli military, civil rule of Gaza after Hamas; I won’t allow it

In a televised address Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he must take “tough decisions” to advance non-Hamas governance of Gaza, whatever the personal or political cost, because the gains of the war are being eroded and Israel’s long-term security is at stake.

Gallant warned in his address that he will not consent to Israeli civil or military governance of Gaza, and that governance by non-Hamas Palestinian entities, accompanied by international actors, is in Israel’s interest. Netanyahu, he said, must publicly rule out the notion of ongoing Israeli military or civil rule in the Strip.

The public comments, seen as the most direct political challenge to Netanyahu from within his government since the start of the war, sparked an angry backlash among members of the coalition, who urged Netanyahu to fire the defense minister.

Only hours earlier, the premier declared that any discussions of the “day after” in Gaza are meaningless until Hamas is defeated.

Netanyahu himself quickly retorted that he was “not prepared to switch from Hamastan to Fatahstan,” referencing the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority. READ MORE