A report by the British newspaper The Guardian said that Israeli officials are striving to avoid a state of “growing frustration” in Washington ahead of a “potentially difficult” meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by presenting a series of policy proposals on Gaza, which some described as... Lacks "detail or commitment."

According to a report published by the newspaper, the United States has shown strong support for Israel since the outbreak of its war with Hamas three months ago, but it is keen to obtain some concessions from Netanyahu to reduce the level of regional tensions and help avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East region.

Blinken arrived on Friday evening in Istanbul, his first stop on a tour in the Middle East centered on the war in Gaza, which also includes a visit to five Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Israel and the West Bank, as part of his fourth tour in the region since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.

The newspaper reported that Blinken, during his visit to Israel, will put pressure on Netanyahu to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, allow more aid to reach the Strip, and rein in far-right ministers who called for the mass resettlement of Palestinians, a speech that the United States condemned and described as “incitement.” "And irresponsible."

The newspaper noted that Netanyahu "ironized Washington" by refusing so far to participate in any "detailed planning" to govern Gaza after the end of the Israeli military attack and rejecting the options favored by the United States.

Repeating previous promises

The newspaper continued, "In recent days, senior Israeli ministers have been quick to present some post-war proposals and repeat previous promises that the Israeli army will move to tactics that are less costly to civilians."

According to Israeli officials, these “proposals” include Israel retaining security control over Gaza, with an unspecified Palestinian body under Israeli direction running the day-to-day administration of the Strip, and the United States, the European Union, and regional partners assuming responsibility for the reconstruction of the Strip.

It added: “Under Yoav Gallant’s plan, the Israeli attack on Gaza will continue until the hostages taken during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 are released, and Hamas’s “military and governmental capabilities” are dismantled.”

A new phase of sector governance

After that, a new phase begins during which “unspecified Palestinian bodies” take over the rule of the Strip.

The newspaper quoted Israeli observers as saying that Gallant's proposals are not official policy proposals and have not yet been presented to other ministers in the Israeli war government, and that these proposals are unlikely to succeed.

The newspaper, Merav Zonszin, a senior analyst on Israel and Palestine affairs at the International Crisis Group, said: “The Israeli army is presenting its plan to politicians for consideration, and it is a recipe for disaster.” She added, "The idea of wanting local Palestinians to take over local government is the right approach, but you have to let them choose for themselves."

The newspaper reported that Gallant's plan differs "blatantly" from American calls to revitalize the Palestinian Authority to manage the West Bank and Gaza together and begin new negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.

The newspaper quoted US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller as saying, "It is clear that there are difficult issues facing the region and difficult choices before us."

Biden's statements criticizing Israel

The United States is pushing Israel to shift to less intense military operations in Gaza that more precisely target Hamas.

In a rare public criticism, US President Joe Biden warned last month that Israel was losing international support; Because of its "random attacks" on the Gaza Strip.

Gallant's statement said that Israeli forces in northern Gaza will shift to a "new combat approach" focusing on raids, tunnel destruction, "air and ground activities, and special operations."

But on the other hand, the newspaper stressed that it was not clear how this “new approach” might differ from current operations, although the newspaper considered that the recent withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza may indicate “an imminent change in war tactics.”

The newspaper talked about other concerns of the Biden administration about the conflict in Gaza, which relate to calls by far-right members of Netanyahu’s government to encourage the Palestinians to leave Gaza en masse, which coincides with unconfirmed reports in Israel about submitting proposals to convince other countries to accept large numbers of Palestinians. 

This raised fears in most parts of the Arab world that Israel wants to expel the Palestinians from the lands on which they want to build their future state, repeating the process of mass displacement of Palestinians in the wars that followed the establishment of Israel in 1948.

On Friday, Rwanda described reports published by an Israeli news agency about talks between Rwanda and Israel regarding the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza as “completely misleading information and should be ignored.”

The US State Department spokesman told reporters: “We have been clear and consistent in our unequivocal position that Gaza is and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas not controlling its future and with no terrorist groups capable of threatening Israel.”

According to United Nations reports, a large part of northern Gaza has turned into rubble, and about 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced and forced to live in smaller areas than ever before, and a quarter of the population now suffers from hunger due to insufficient supplies arriving.