The Israeli plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza: Text translation
Israeli military vehicles just outside the Gaza Strip, 31 October 2023
Mondoweiss Editors introduce the policy document:
On October 24, Mondoweiss reported on an Israeli media report of a plan to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians that was being circulated by the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence. On October 28, the Israeli news website Local Call published a leak of the entire ten-page document. The following is the full translation of the document.
The analysis begins, “Israel is required to bring about a significant change in the civilian reality,” and it outlines three alternatives for the future of Gaza: A. Importing Palestinian Authority governance, B. Fostering “local Arab governance,” or C. The “evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai.” The paper concludes, “Alternative C is the one that yields positive and long-term strategic results for Israel” and includes considerations for its implementation.
As Mondoweiss reported and Local Call reiterated in their story, this plan is regarded as an initial policy document and has not yet been formally adopted.
October 13, 2023
Policy Paper: Alternatives for a Political Directive for the Civilian Population in Gaza
Executive summary
1 The State of Israel is required to bring about a significant change in the civilian reality in the Gaza Strip in light of Hamas’s crimes that have led to the “Iron Swords” war. Accordingly, it must decide on the state’s goal regarding the civilian population in Gaza to be pursued concurrently with the removal of Hamas rule.
2. The goal defined by the government requires intensive action to gain the support of the United States and other countries for this objective.
3. Basic guidelines for working under each directive:
a. Eliminate the Hamas regime.
b. Evacuating the population outside of the combat zone, for the benefit of the residents of the Strip.
c. International aid should be planned and implemented according to the chosen directive.
d. Each directive should involve a deep process of implementing ideological change (denazification).
e. The chosen directive will support the political goal regarding the future of the strip and the endgame of the war.
4. This document will present three possible alternatives as directives of the political echelon in Israel regarding the future of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Each directive will be examined in light of the following characteristics:
a. Operability – the ability to implement operationally.
b. Legitimacy – international/internal/legal.
c. The ability to bring about ideological perceptual change among the population with respect to Jews and Israel.
d. Broad strategic consequences.
5. The three alternatives that have been examined are as follows:
Alternative A: The population remains in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority rule is imported.
Alternative B: The population remains in Gaza and a local Arab administration is fostered.
Alternative C: The evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai.
6. From a thorough review of the alternatives, the following insights emerge:
Alternative C is the one that yields positive and long-term strategic results for Israel, but is a challenging one to implement. It requires determination on the part of the political echelon in the face of international pressure, with an emphasis on rallying the support of the United States and other pro-Israel countries for the operation.
Alternatives A and B suffer from significant drawbacks, particularly in terms of their strategic implications and the lack of long-term feasibility. Both alternatives will not provide the necessary deterrent effect, will not enable a transformation of consciousness, and may lead to the same problems and threats that Israel has dealt with from 2007 to the present.
Alternative A is the riskiest option, as the division of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza is one of the main obstacles to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Choosing this alternative implies an unprecedented victory for the Palestinian national movement, a victory that comes at the cost of thousands of Israeli citizens and soldiers and does not guarantee Israel’s security.