In announcing their August 8 decision to temporarily “take over” all of Gaza, Israeli officials issued a set of principles for how Arab states could oversee governance of the Strip after Israel’s presence ends. Although these principles provided few details and no timeline, they clarified several important points, such as Israel’s desire to exercise some sort of security oversight, bar Hamas or the Palestinian Authority from governing Gaza, and demilitarize the territory. These conditions are not new, of course—Israelis have worked with Arab and American interlocutors on various “day after” models for over eighteen months, and some of these models have been discussed with Palestinian officials. Yet this is the first time that the Israeli government has taken a formal position on governance and linked it to a commitment to withdraw all of its forces.
How “Day After” Governance of Gaza Can Draw from Existing Plans | The Washington Institute
