Gallant to Netanyahu: You must publicly reject Israeli civil or military governance of Gaza after Hamas; I won’t allow it

In a televised address, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he must take “tough decisions” to advance non-Hamas governance of Gaza, because the gains of the war are being eroded and Israel’s long-term security is at stake.

He also warns that he will not consent to Israeli civil or military governance of Gaza, and that governance by local, non-Hamas Palestinians there is in Israel’s interest. Netanyahu, he says, must publicly rule out the notion of ongoing Israeli governance in the Strip.

Hours after Netanyahu declared that any discussions of the “day after” in Gaza are meaningless until Hamas is defeated, Gallant specifies that failing to find a replacement for Hamas in the Gaza Strip will undermine Israel’s military achievements, as the terror group is managing to regroup and exercise civil control.

“As long as Hamas retains control over civilian life in Gaza, it may rebuild and strengthen, thus requiring the IDF to return and fight in areas where it has already operated.”

“We must dismantle Hamas’s governing capabilities in Gaza. The key to this goal is military action, and the establishment of a governing alternative in Gaza,” he says in his televised statement.

“In the absence of such an alternative, only two negative options remain: Hamas’ rule in Gaza or Israeli military rule in Gaza,” Gallant warns. “The meaning of indecision is choosing one of the negative options. It would erode our military achievements, reduce the pressure on Hamas, and sabotage the chances of achieving a framework for the release of hostages,” he says.

Gallant claims that since October, during sessions of the security cabinet, he has been bringing up the subject of finding a replacement for Hamas, but has been rebuffed.

“The end of the military campaign must come together with political action. The ‘day after Hamas’ will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors, establishing a governing alternative to Hamas’s rule. This, above all, is an interest of the State of Israel,” he says. “Unfortunately, this issue was not raised for discussion, and worse, no alternative was brought up in its place.”

“Indecision is, in essence, a decision,” he says. “This leads to a dangerous course, which promotes the idea of Israeli military and civilian governance in Gaza. This is a negative and dangerous option for the State of Israel — strategically, militarily, and from a security standpoint.

“[Should this be the decision], military rule in Gaza would become the main security and military effort of the State of Israel over the coming years, at the expense of other arenas. The price paid would be bloodshed and victims, as well as a heavy economic price,” Gallant says.

“I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military administration in Gaza. Israel must not exercise civilian control in Gaza,” he states bluntly.

“The security establishment and the IDF are responsible for destroying Hamas and retaining full military freedom of action in Gaza. The capacity to do so depends on the creation of alternative governance in Gaza,” he says, “and all parts of the government of Israel have to work on this.”

“The way this is implemented will influence Israel’s security situation for decades to come.”

Gallant now turns directly to the prime minister, who temporarily fired him in March 2023 when he spoke out against the “tangible” security threat posed by the rifts over the coalition’s judicial overhaul plans.

Says Gallant: “I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a decision and declare that Israel will not exercise civilian rule in the Gaza Strip, because no Israeli military administration will be established in Gaza, and that an alternative government to Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be advanced immediately. That is our obligation and responsibility in order to lead the state to a better place.”

“Right now,” he says, “on our watch, for the sake of the state’s future, we have to take tough decisions — advancing the national interest over all other interests, even if this requires paying personal or political costs.” He says the eyes of the nation “are on us,” and that Israelis “expect us to take the correct decisions.”