Israel is seeking Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas to manage civilian affairs in areas of the Gaza Strip designed as testing grounds for postwar administration of the enclave, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
But Hamas said the plan, which the Israeli official said would also exclude anybody on the payroll of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, would amount to an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and was doomed to failure.
Reuters reports that the Israeli official said the planned “humanitarian pockets” would be in districts of the Gaza Strip from which Hamas has been expelled, but that their ultimate success would hinge on Israel achieving its goal of destroying the Islamist faction across the tiny coastal territory that it has been governing.
“We’re looking for the right people to step up to the plate,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “But it is clear that this will take time, as no one will come forward if they think Hamas will put a bullet in their head.”
The plan, the official added, “may be achieved once Hamas is destroyed and doesn’t pose a threat to Israel or to Gazans”.
Israel’s Channel 12 TV reported that the Zeitoun neighbourhood of northern Gaza City was a candidate for implementation of the plan, under which local merchants and civil society leaders would distribute humanitarian aid.
The Israeli military would provide peripheral security in Zeitoun, Channel 12 said, describing renewed troop incursions there this week as designed to root out remnants of a Hamas garrison that was hit hard in the early stages of the war.
Reuters said there was no official confirmation of the Channel 12 report.
