JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Although the conflict in the Gaza Strip persists, questions have already arisen over who will rule the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave once the fighting is over.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said Israel would have security control over Gaza after the end of the current war for "an indefinite period," despite the wide rejection by the international community, including Israel's staunch backer, the United States.
Other suggestions in this regard, including reviving the rule of the Palestinian Authority (PA) or assigning a multinational force, have also met with resistance, underscoring the complexities of finding a solution to the rule of post-war Gaza.
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE IN GAZA
The massive destruction in Gaza, caused by Israel's relentless bombardments and ground operations, will require international efforts to rebuild the enclave, which is home to about 2.3 million people.
A humanitarian catastrophe has been unfolding in Gaza since the Oct. 7 outbreak of the conflict, which was provoked by a surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has so far surpassed 20,000, with about 75 percent of them being children, women and the elderly, said the Hamas-run government media office. More than 8,000 Palestinians are believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings.
Over 61 percent of homes in the enclave have been damaged, and 1.9 million Palestinian residents, or nearly 85 percent of the Gaza population, have been forcibly displaced, according to UN estimates. Local residents are suffering from severe shortages of electricity, food, and shelters due to the Israeli blockade that limits the delivery of relief aid.
On the Israeli side, more than 1,300 people were killed, the majority of whom died during the initial surprise attack launched by Hamas on Oct. 7. Over 120 people are still held hostage by Hamas and other militants in Gaza after the release of more than 100 hostages during a week-long truce in late November.
The rising Palestinian death toll has increased international pressure on Israel to scale down its intensified bombardments in Gaza to protect the civilians.
During a visit to Israel on Dec. 18, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Israel to shift from high-intensity operations to "low-intensity and more surgical" operations in Gaza to reduce civilian casualties.
GAZA'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that runs the densely populated enclave, is "eliminated."
At a press conference on Dec. 16, Netanyahu said the Israeli attack in Gaza was "existential" and must be fought "until victory." He added that Gaza would be demilitarized and under Israeli security control.
Addressing police officers earlier this month, Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not allow either Hamas or Fatah, the Palestinian political faction that leads the PA, to control Gaza.
Despite Netanyahu's vow to eradicate Hamas, many believed that his goal is unrealistic due to the deep support that Hamas enjoys among Palestinians.
Even just destroying the movement's military capability "will be a tall order," said the International Crisis Group, a global think tank based in Brussels, Belgium.
After Israel invaded Gaza, ultranationalist settler leaders, including several members of Netanyahu's far-right coalition government, have called for rebuilding Gush Katif, a bloc of 17 settlements inside the Gaza Strip, which Israel evacuated in 2005.
Photos and video footage taken by soldiers have surfaced on social media, showing Israeli troops hanging flags of Gush Katif in Gaza.
Rebuilding Jewish settlements in Gaza, however, is an unrealistic scenario, said Harel Chorev, head of the Desk for Middle Eastern Network Analysis at the Moshe Dayan Center of Tel Aviv University.
"There are so many aspects that would prevent it from happening, including the fact that this government won't survive after the war," he told Xinhua, referring to the sharp drop in popularity of Netanyahu's government in the wake of the Hamas attack.
U.S.-ISRAEL DIFFERENCES
While Israel will likely maintain control over Gaza, it won't make all the decisions on the enclave's future, said Ronni Shaked, an expert on Israeli-Palestinian relations at the Hebrew University's Truman Institute in Jerusalem.
Arab countries, the U.S. and many other nations will play a role in shaping Gaza's destiny, Shaked told Xinhua.
"This conflict began as a conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but it evolved into an international affair," he said, citing that the interests of various stakeholders in the region are involved.
Eyal Zisser, a professor at Tel Aviv University's Middle Eastern and African History Department, told Xinhua that Israel is likely to retain security control over Gaza after the conflict, similar to the approach it adopted in the West Bank.
Israel seized both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has kept its security control of much of the West Bank despite international criticism. The Palestinians wish to establish their future sovereign state in these territories with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Zisser believed international entities are unlikely to take control of the enclave, predicting a return to PA's rule. Hamas has been controlling Gaza since 2007 after it overthrew the PA's rule there.
The U.S. supports the idea of letting the PA act as a key player in governing post-war Gaza, with President Joe Biden repeatedly saying his vision for Gaza is based on a two-state solution.
"We're not going to have durable security for Israel unless and until Palestinian political aspirations are met," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a recent interview with the U.S. media.
Many Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, have also proposed the return of the PA's rule to the Gaza Strip. Enditem
(Nick Kolyohin contributed to the story.)
