Israel’s security cabinet has authorised the full occupation of Gaza, beginning with Gaza City, a move critics warn could lead to perpetual war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested the occupation will last until Hamas can be replaced, but the international community fears an open-ended control of the entire territory.
The decision has been described as reckless, delusional, and inhuman. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich declared on Friday: “We are erasing the Palestinian state, first in action and then officially.” The plan does not use the word “occupation”, but experts say that is what is envisaged, with all the international legal obligations that would entail.
Financially, the move could place a huge burden on Israel. Ram Aminach, an expert in military economics, estimated the cost of taking full control of Gaza at nearly $6bn in the coming months, with “incomprehensible costs” to sustain a population of 2 million. He warned that no international player would help pay for it given Israel’s current standing.
There are also doubts about Israel’s military capacity. The operation is expected to involve five divisions over five to six months, but the IDF has struggled to defeat Hamas in two and a half years of war, with fighters returning to areas previously cleared. The chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, opposed the plan, warning it could lead to the death of remaining hostages and greater risk to soldiers from improvised explosive devices.
The plan echoes the failed US and British experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yitzhak Yifat, the central figure in a famous 1967 photograph of Israeli paratroopers at the Western Wall, later reflected: “We realised that we had conquered another people. A whole people. And now it seems we cannot now get to a true peace, a real peace.”
