A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, says the country’s military will have a presence in Gaza after the Israel/Hamas conflict ends.
Key points:
- Mark Regev said Gaza needed a fluid presence post-Hamas control
- He said a plan forward in Gaza could resemble Israel’s military presence in the West Bank
- The senior adviser rejected the characterisation of the plan as an “occupation” in Gaza
“You have to differentiate between political control, which Israel does not want, and a security envelope, a security situation where Israel can protect itself from terrorism. And of course, that will require some sort of presence” former ambassador Mark Regev told 7.30.
The senior adviser described the military plans for Gaza post-conflict as needing to be a fluid presence.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean a permanent presence. We could have a fluid situation that we can go in and out as need be.
“We’re not going to allow terrorists to re-establish control in Gaza, we’re not going to allow them to build capabilities that can inflict the sort of pain that they did on us just 31 days ago,” Mr Regev said.
In an interview yesterday with America’s ABC network, Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I think Israel for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility, because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.”
Mr Regev went further in an interview with 7.30 explaining that the plan would resemble Israel’s military presence in the West Bank.
“The West Bank is divided into three areas. There’s area A, which is under full Palestinian control, there’s area B, where there’s joint control, and there’s Area C, largely unpopulated, which is controlled by Israel. That’s part of the Oslo Agreements. So it’s true. Some of those arrangements could be an example of what we would like to see in Gaza.”
Mr Regev rejected the characterisation of the plan as an “occupation” of Gaza.
“I didn’t, never used that word ‘ongoing Israeli military occupation'”.
Asked if Israel had communicated to the Palestinian Authority plans for a West Bank-style military presence in Gaza, he said: “We have friends who are shuttling between us, ourselves and Ramallah, who can pass messages.”
“I know the situation on the West Bank is far from perfect, but you’ve got to ask what the alternatives are. And if the alternative is a Hamas-controlled government, I’ll take the imperfect reality on the West Bank.”
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