ALBAWABA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is mulling a controversial policy designed by retired military generals to cut humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, trapping hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who refuse to flee. According to a draft plan seen by Al Jazeera, this technique restricts access to food and water for survivors.
The plan, given to Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament, gives Palestinians one week to leave the northern third of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, before designating it a closed military zone. Resident combatants would be subject to military action and denied food, water, medication, and fuel. The plan's principal architect claims this is the only way to weaken Hamas in northern Gaza and force it to release captives.
Al Jazeera says aspects of this strategy are already in operation, but specifics aren't available. An Israeli official said Netanyahu "read and studied" the suggestion and many others received throughout the war, but none had been implemented. Officials requested anonymity owing to the delicate nature of the negotiations.
Israel's military operations have included numerous evacuation orders for northern Gaza, the latest on Sunday. This latest order to evacuate has received little reaction from Palestinians. Many inhabitants are aged, ill, or afraid to leave since there are no safe havens. Others fear that Israel will not allow them to return since it has already prevented people displaced earlier in the war.
Oxfam assistance worker Jumana Khalili in Gaza City expressed locals' misgivings about the proposal. "All the people of Gaza are scared of the plan, but they will not flee," she said. In southern Gaza, where displaced people live in congested camps targeted by Israeli bombardment, Khalili said many inhabitants think dying is better than leaving their homes.
According to Al Jazeera, retired generals and senior military personnel presented the concept to the Israeli parliament last month. More information has been requested from Netanyahu's office since its presentation. The plan's architect, former National Security Council chairman Giora Eiland, said, "They will have to either surrender or face starvation." Cutting off Hamas' humanitarian supplies is the only way to stop the war.
