October 29, 2023
The plan advocates the forced transfer of the population of the Gaza
Strip to Sinai permanently, and calls for the international community to
be leveraged to assist the move
Israeli culture magazine Mekovit published on 28
October a leaked document issued by Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence
recommending the occupation of Gaza and total transfer of its 2.3 million
inhabitants to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The document, issued on 13 October, identifies a
plan to transfer all residents of the Gaza Strip to North Sinai as the
preferred option among three alternatives regarding the future of the
Palestinians in Gaza at the end of the current war between Israel and the
Hamas-led Palestinian resistance.
The document recommends that Israel evacuate the
Gazan population to Sinai during the war, establish tent cities and new cities
in northern Sinai to accommodate the deported population, and then create a
closed security zone stretching several kilometers inside Egypt. The deported
Palestinians would not be allowed to return to any areas near the Israeli
border.
The existence of the document does not necessarily
indicate that its recommendations are being implemented by Israel’s security
establishment.
The Ministry of Intelligence, headed by Gila Gamliel
of the Likud party, does not control any of Israel’s intelligence agencies, but
independently prepares studies and policy papers, which are distributed for
consideration by the government and its security bodies.
However, recent statements by Israeli government
officials and actions by the Israeli army in Gaza suggest the plan is indeed
being implemented. Since 7 October, Israeli officials have repeatedly issued
warnings to Palestinians to move to southern Gaza in advance of a looming
ground invasion.
Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza, cutting
off food, water, fuel, and electricity. The siege, combined with intense
Israeli bombing that has killed over 8,000 Palestinians, the majority women and
children, threatens to make Gaza uninhabitable.
An official at the Ministry of Intelligence
confirmed that the ten-page document is authentic but "was not supposed to
reach the media," Mekovit noted.
According to a right-wing activist, the document
from the Ministry of Intelligence was leaked by a member of Likud. Leaking the
document was an attempt to find out whether "the public in Israel is ready
to accept ideas of a transfer from Gaza."
The document unequivocally and explicitly recommends
carrying out a transfer of civilians from Gaza as the desired outcome of the
war.
The transfer plan is divided into several phases: in
the first phase, the population in Gaza must be forced to move to southern
Gaza, while Israeli air strikes will focus on targets in northern Gaza.
In the second phase, the Israeli army's ground entry
into Gaza will begin, which will lead to the occupation of the entire strip,
from north to south, and the "cleansing of the underground bunkers from
Hamas fighters."
At the same time as the Gaza Strip is occupied, the
citizens of Gaza will move to Egyptian territory and will be prevented from
returning permanently.
"It is important to leave the traffic lanes
towards the south usable, to allow the evacuation of the civilian population
towards Rafah," the document states.
The document recommends beginning a dedicated
campaign that will "motivate” Gazans “to agree to the plan,” and make them
give up their land.
Gazan should be convinced that “Allah made sure that
you lost this land because of the leadership of Hamas - there is no choice but
to move to another place with the help of Your Muslim brothers," the
document reads.
Further, the plan states the government must launch
a public relations campaign that will promote the transfer program to western
states in a way that does not promote hostility to Israel or damage its
reputation. The deportation of the population from Gaza must be presented as a
necessary humanitarian measure to receive international support. Such a
deportation could be justified if it will lead to "fewer casualties among
the civilian population compared to the expected number of casualties if they
remain,” the document says.
The document also states that the US should be
leveraged to pressure Egypt to take in the residents of Gaza, and to encourage
other European countries, and in particular Greece, Spain and Canada, to help
take in and settle the refugees who will be evacuated from Gaza.
Finally, the document claims that if the population
of Gaza remains, there will be "many Arab deaths" during the expected
occupation of Gaza by the Israeli army, and this will damage Israel's
international image even more than the deportation of the population. For all
these reasons, the recommendation of the Ministry of Intelligence is to promote
the transfer of all Palestinians in Gaza to Sinai permanently.
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