By Rabia Ali
ISTANBUL (AA) – As Israel shows no signs of halting its devastating assault on the Gaza Strip, the question now is becoming what it plans to do with the besieged enclave.
The growing fear among Palestinians is that after inflicting all this death and destruction on millions in Gaza, Israel is now planning to reoccupy the Palestinian territory, as suggested by various recent reports and developments on the ground.
These include the construction of a buffer zone and the establishment of corridors that give Israel strategic control in vital areas, all fueling speculation about Israel’s intentions and its long-term strategy for Gaza.
“Over the years, there has been a gradual encroachment by Israelis on Palestinian territory, where they gradually take off more and more territory, partially occupy it militarily, and then eventually cut Palestinians off from access to that territory. That could very well happen in Gaza as well,” analyst Andreas Krieg told Anadolu.
He said there are certain groups within the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for the reoccupation of Gaza.
“Basically, reoccupying it in the same way that they’re doing in the West Bank,” said Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies of King’s College London.
- ‘Buffer zone reduces Gaza’s territory by 16%’
Reports of Israel creating a buffer zone in Gaza first emerged last November, with local media revealing that the 1-kilometer-wide (0.6-mile-wide) would extend all along the Gaza-Israel border, from the city of Beit Lahia in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.
Adi Ben-Nun, an Israeli professor at the Hebrew University and expert in geographic information systems (GIS), used satellite images to explain to Anadolu how Israel has been remodeling the enclave.
For the buffer zone, he said 90% of approximately 3,000 buildings in its path “are already demolished.”
It forms a new perimeter along the border and reduce around Gaza’s total territory by 16%, he said.
Back in February, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk had commented on reports about Israel’s plan to create a buffer zone, asserting that it could constitute a war crime.
Israeli human rights group B’Teselm has also condemned the plan, saying the demolitions carried out by Israel are unlawful and constitute a war crime.
The group said these demolitions are a preventive measure intended to thwart a future threat, which is absolutely prohibited.
- Netzarim Corridor ‘not temporary but permanent’
Another major step in remodeling the Gaza Strip was the establishment of the Netzarim Corridor.
This 4-mile stretch of road, named after a former Israeli settlement, has “basically split the north from the south,” according to Ben-Nun.
Large patches of agricultural lands and around 200 to 300 buildings were razed to make way for the corridor, which is officially known as Road 749 and stretches from the Gaza-Israel border to the Mediterranean coastline, he said.
He also pointed out that the corridor is right near the pier the US is building off Gaza’s coast to deliver much needed humanitarian aid.
Elaborating on the specifics of the corridor, Krieg said it has “two east-west connections that cut the Gaza Strip into two.”
“I think it’s a quasi-permanent structure that I don’t think the IDF is going to withdraw from any time soon,” he said.
He explained that the corridor has barriers and forward operating bases, along with a partially tarmacked road, making it “very much a solid barrier.”
“It’s not a temporary one, but a permanent structure that suggests that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is most likely going to keep the corridor and create checkpoints, making it part of a wider stabilization operation which can last years,” he said.
- Gaza will be ‘divided into two territories’
For Krieg, it is clear that the Israeli military is “dictating a political strategy for Gaza.”
The military’s plan “is to defeat Hamas by keeping a quasi-permanent presence for years on the ground with forward operating bases from which they can go and strike deep inside the territory,” he said.
“The effect on the ground will be that the Gaza Strip is no longer one territory, but divided into two territories. Israel will probably create quotas that will limit how many people can move south and how many people can move north. It will very much undermine the freedom of movement of Gazans,” he said.
“We’ve seen already this in the West Bank and even if it is not a full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, it will have a similar impact on the psyche of people in Gaza, who will feel the Israeli presence basically suffocating them.”
Krieg believes the Israelis are enforcing a “very strict policy” that “will lead to more radicalization and potentially more resistance.”
“They will probably operate a martial policy and martial law across the Gaza Strip for years to come, which will mean it makes it very, very easy for them to kill indiscriminately any suspect who they consider to be a threat,” he said.
“That can be youngsters or women. That can be, and are often, civilians, as we’ve seen in the West Bank. So, this will really determine the future moving forward.”
He believes the international community, including the US and European nations, will not allow a permanent Israeli presence, such as settlements in the Gaza Strip.
However, Krieg pointed out that there has been no initiative, from the UN or other members of the international community, for “the governance of the Gaza Strip … or the day after.”
The US also does not have any real policy and has been pushing the idea of the two-state solution, he said.
“In this vacuum, in the absence of a clear strategy, it’s quite concerning that the Israelis will do whatever they want to do, and gradually, bit by bit, create a fait accompli on the ground that would see Palestinians basically being more confined and more restrained in their freedom of movement on the ground,” said Krieg.