Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan by security officials to train Gaza-based Palestinian factions in exile to Hamas, Ynet learned on Thursday.
According to the plan, backed by the United States, Israel would train Palestinians, namely operatives of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah movement, to fight Hamas Islamists back in the Palestinian enclave.
The outline, presented to political leaders in recent weeks, aimed to prevent humanitarian aid and food from falling into Hamas' hands, push the terrorist group out of decision-making roles in central and northern Gaza, and the lay groundwork for Gaza's post-war reconstruction.
Palestinian Intelligence Service Director Majed Faraj, a vehement Hamas opponent held in high regard both in Israel and the U.S., was to pinpoint 4,000 to 7,000 Fatah operatives within the Gaza Strip for Israel to vet, ensuring they had no ties to terrorism.
In the second phase of the plan, Israel was to allow their departure from Gaza for training as a viable security force. U.S. General Michael Penzel, the security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was set to oversee this training process.
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The West Bank was considered at first as a training location, but the final proposal suggested Jordan. Ultimately, Israel would have allowed these trained Fatah members, now armed, to return to the Gaza Strip.
Faraj gave the go-ahead to the plan, and Israel's defense establishment, led by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, supported it as well. However, when presented to Prime Minister Netanyahu, he rejected the initiative, objecting to the involvement of Palestinian Authority personnel in Gaza's "day after" scenario.
Tension over the Faraj plan has persisted for weeks, drawing sharp criticism of Netanyahu from political figures. "Maybe he wants security personnel to make Aliyah from Switzerland to manage Gaza," one official quipped.
Gallant reportedly told Netanyahu recently, "Someone needs to take control in Gaza. And it won't be a Swede; it will be Fatah."
Netanyahu has yet to outline a strategy for post-Hamas Gaza, only releasing a document summarizing his speeches. Security officials emphasize the immediate concern, noting Gaza's central and northern regions are home to approximately 300,000 residents and 4,000 to 6,000 terrorists. A diminished IDF presence, coupled with no alternative authority, could enable Hamas to retake both military and governmental control.