Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Netaynahu: We Will 'Take Control' of Gaza -- But ...
Hotair ^ | 08/07/2025 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 08/07/2025 10:04:16 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Does "control" equal "occupation"? Benjamin Netanyahu took some care in choosing his words in a Fox News interview, even as his Cabinet came together to discuss next steps in Gaza. He emphasized the need to "liberate" both Gazans and Israelis from Hamas' annihilationist and genocidal threat.

That certainly will require "control," and perhaps that means at least a transitional "occupation." But Netanyahu doesn't use the O-word here:

Mr. Netanyahu made the comments in an interview with Fox News ahead of a security cabinet meeting to discuss a proposal to expand military operations in Gaza. They came as talks to achieve a cease-fire and the release of the hostages have hit an impasse, with Israeli and Hamas officials blaming each other for the deadlock.

When asked whether Israel would take over all of Gaza, he responded, “We intend to.”

Mr. Netanyahu said the move would “assure our security,” remove Hamas from power, and would enable the transfer of the civilian administration of Gaza to another party.

“We want to liberate ourselves and the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas,” he said in an excerpt from the interview, without providing details on any planned operation.

Is there a difference between "control" and "occupation"? There may be a difference in the legal sense, as well as in the operational sense. The Israelis are already sensitive about the term "occupation" in the West Bank, and seizing more territory for a long-term occupation of Gaza is already an unpopular idea. Netanyahu's language seems intent on signaling a desire for only an operational occupation, one that would end as soon as Hamas either capitulates and leaves, or gets destroyed. 

Later in the interview, Netanyahu told Fox that the 'control' would be temporary:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel plans to take control of Gaza, but that it does not intend to maintain permanent control over it in a Thursday interview with Fox News.

"We don't wanna keep it. We want to have a security perimeter, and we don't want to govern it. We want to give it to Arab forces that will govern it properly and not threaten us."

So yes, Netanyahu envisions only an operational occupation of limited time. The problem with that is that there is no real way to estimate how long it will take to eliminate Hamas, let alone find and free the hostages. Even an operational occupation could stretch out for years, given the fortifications constructed by Hamas over the last 20 years. 

That won't be popular with Israelis, largely for those reasons but for others as well. The IDF's top commander opposes the idea and doesn't seem interested in splitting hairs about the various nuances of "control." Nor is Eyal Zamir about to go quietly, as some in Netanyahu's office apparently suggested:

Speaking during an assessment with the military’s top brass on Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: “A culture of disagreement is an inseparable part of the history of the people of Israel; it is a vital component of the Israel Defense Forces’ organizational culture, both internally and externally.”

“We will continue to express our positions without fear, in a substantive, independent, and professional manner,” he added. ...

According to Hebrew media reports, he warned that “occupying the Strip would drag Israel into a black hole — taking responsibility for two million Palestinians, requiring a yearslong clearing operation, exposing soldiers to guerrilla warfare and, most dangerously, jeopardizing the hostages.”

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office have suggested that if Zamir objects to the plan to occupy Gaza, he can resign as IDF chief.

“We are not dealing with theory; we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the defense of the state, and we do so while looking directly into the eyes of our soldiers and the citizens of the country,” Zamir said during the Thursday morning assessment, the army said.

Hostage families also oppose such a strategy, also for understandable reasons:

Israel’s security cabinet meeting to vote on whether to move forward with a full-scale military occupation of the Gaza Strip has begun, according to Channel 12. ...

Outside the meeting, protesters rally against the proposed move to expand the military operation, which they say will risk the lives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu faces a tough choice. Israelis want Hamas eliminated, but don't want to fight the war that would deliver that kind of outcome. That's understandable, because they would either have to fight that war with total-war tactics and create massive civilian casualties, or drag out targeted urban combat for months and create significant casualties in an already stretched-out IDF. 

Netanyahu got better news on the northern front today. Lebanese media reported that the government in Beirut has approved a US proposal to fully disarm Hezbollah and evict them from the sub-Litani and Bekaa Valley regions, which would allow Israel to withdraw any remaining forces back into northern Israel. Hezbollah walked out of the discussion, which apparently didn't bother the other participants:

Lebanese media reports that the cabinet session discussing the disarmament of Hezbollah was suspended after five ministers —representing Hezbollah, its ally the Amal Movement, and an independent Shiite minister — walked out in protest.

However, Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos announces afterward that the government approved the list of objectives presented on the first page of the American mediator’s proposal to Lebanon, which includes keeping all weapons under state control and disarming groups operating outside state structures, including Hezbollah.

If Hezbollah gets disarmed and dislocated, that cuts off another potential source of support for Hamas, no matter how unrealistic it might be to expect any help at this point. It could also put an end to nearly five decades of enmity between Lebanon and Israel, allowing the IDF to focus more on terrorism on Israel's other borders. 

Update: I had to do a U-turn on the "U-word." I meant "O-word." Sorry!


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Gaza; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: gaza; hamas; israel

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.


1 posted on 08/07/2025 10:04:16 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

They can play all the semantic games they want. The games are for domestic consumption inside Israel. As long as they take care of their business they can call it a county fair for all I care

CC


2 posted on 08/07/2025 10:16:13 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (*This is a test of the emergency tagline system. This is only a test*)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

In my mind, taking control of Gaza would involve nukes.


3 posted on 08/07/2025 10:35:43 PM PDT by Nachoman (Proudly oppressing people of color since 1957.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
The IDF chief disagrees with the vision and from photos looks really emotionally drained. Prayers for him. :(

Speaking during an assessment with the military’s top brass on Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: “A culture of disagreement is an inseparable part of the history of the people of Israel; it is a vital component of the Israel Defense Forces’ organizational culture, both internally and externally.”

4 posted on 08/07/2025 10:45:32 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Nachoman
In my mind, taking control of Gaza would involve nukes.

Although your suggestion would certainly accelerate the ongoing genocide of the Gazans, it would be like Connecticut nuking Queens and Manhattan. There would be no way to avoid the political or radiative blow back.

5 posted on 08/07/2025 11:03:35 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

I don’t know where Amir gets his images, but living in Israel, he has sources.

I can’t figure out how to post the video clips but here are a couple at night. The support is MASSIVE.

https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/60935

https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/60931

Men, the perfect target rich environment.


6 posted on 08/07/2025 11:55:14 PM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus….)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ronaldus Magnus

There is no ongoing genocide of Gazans.

But you’re right that the nuclear fallout would be very detrimental to Israel.

Nukes are not an option.


7 posted on 08/07/2025 11:57:02 PM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus….)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

The Gazans are Hamas. They need to take back the land that God gave them.


8 posted on 08/08/2025 12:01:39 AM PDT by roving
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ronaldus Magnus
ongoing genocide of the Gazans

You same your screen name.

9 posted on 08/08/2025 3:08:18 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Ronaldus Magnus

You shame your screen name


10 posted on 08/08/2025 3:18:42 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

The palistinians have shown time and again they cannot live in a civilized world. This goes back to Arafat and his PLO.


11 posted on 08/08/2025 5:27:38 AM PDT by DownInFlames (P)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DownInFlames
The palistinians have shown time and again they cannot live in a civilized world.

It wouldn't surprise me if King George used these ⬆️ very words when speaking of the Minutemen.

12 posted on 08/08/2025 6:00:35 AM PDT by Right_in_Virginia ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

There is no such thing as a “palestinian”, there is no such place as “palestine”. It is not, and has never BEEN a sovereign nation.
Why the world “leaders” think they must tiptoe around these filthy invaders confuses the hell out of me.


13 posted on 08/08/2025 6:49:10 AM PDT by 13Sisters76 ("It is amazing how many people mistake a certain hip snideness for sophistication. " Thos. Sowell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Gaza should have been annexed after the Six Day War.


14 posted on 08/08/2025 6:50:45 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator (בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson