Netanyahu declares ‘special status’ in areas around Gaza for first time since 2014

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares the area around the Gaza Strip to have a “special status,” a legal designation that gives the government additional powers in order to protect the lives of civilians.

“As I am convinced that there is a reasonably high chance that an attack against the civilian population will take place, I am declaring this special status for the Gaza periphery at a radius of 0 to 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu writes in the official declaration.

This designation will last for 48 hours unless renewed.

Under Israel’s 1951 Civil Defense Law, this special classification gives local and national government the ability to override normal laws in the case of an emergency, including forcing people to work to ensure critical services like water and electricity are delivered to residents. The military is also granted the ability to give orders to the civilian population in order to keep them out of harm’s way.

Israel last used this provision of the 1951 Civil Defense Law during the 2014 Gaza war.

— Judah Ari Gross