One of the features of Trump’s Gaza Stabilization plan that makes Israel feel very uncomfortable are the twin American preferences of Qatar and Turkey to be involved in moving Gaza forward.
Israel’s experiences with both these Islamic regimes convinces Jerusalem that Trump’s grandiose dream of turning enemies into allies is overly naïve by assuming that inserting two anti-Israel antagonists into Gaza would miraculously convert them into becoming pro-Zionists.
To head off this threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that his Acting National Security Council head and the prime minister’s military secretary had paid a visit to Athens.
On the surface, Greece plans to purchase advanced air defense systems from Israel as part of a project known as “Achilles’ Shield.”
The system will reportedly include a new radar and several types of anti-missile interceptors, such as David’s Sling, Spyder, and Barak. The deal is estimated at around 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion).
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said his country opposes Turkey’s inclusion in the European Union’s SAFE program, which aims to strengthen security and defense cooperation among EU member states. Athens fears that Turkey’s participation would increase Greece’s vulnerability to Ankara.
Bear in mind that Turkey continues to occupy northern Cyprus.
Israel and Cyprus have also been expanding their cooperation on energy matters. During Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s recent visit to Nicosia, discussions focused on a plan to lay a direct gas pipeline from Israel’s Karish field to Cyprus, with the gas expected to meet Cypriot and Greek energy needs.
Despite Trump’s desires, Israel opposes Turkey getting any foothold on territory south of Israel’s border in Gaza. Perhaps Greece can be considered for such a role.
Israel is fully aware that inserting Turkey and Qatar into Gaza will play into the hands of Hamas.
Israel prefers that the United States turn to local clans that oppose Hamas rule as being a far more effective way of sidelining Hamas,
The international task force based in southern Israel is maintaining regular contact with several militia and clan leaders in the Gaza Strip to help maintain order and organization in the newly designated humanitarian zones, as well as assisting in distributing food and supplies to displaced Gazans in both the southern and northern parts of the Strip.
The aim is to build these militias into a local order-enforcing force which, if successful, would later receive broader powers throughout the Strip. Two of these militias are led by Husam al-Astal and Yasser Abu Shabab, clan-backed militias operating in southern Gaza that have been engaging in daily clashes with Hamas terrorists.
Al-Astal was formerly a member of the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service under the command of Mohammed Dahlan, joined forces with the militia established by Abu Shabab in eastern Rafah, and later set up his own “safe zone” in the Khan Younis area. In interviews, he claimed that his militia receives equipment and support from Israel, and that there is close coordination between him, Abu Shabab and Israel.
This harks back to my December 2023 proposal of selecting local groups that had physically opposed Hamas in Gaza to become the local municipal heads to maintain security and provide the local manpower to reconstruct their areas.
With the passage of time, meaning decades, these independent clans can be confederated into a national Gaza government and be presented to the United Nations after a prolonged period of reconstruction and deradicalization, for membership as the new independent State of Gaza.
Needless to say, the initiative will be local. The corrupt and unrepentant Fatah-PLO in Ramallah should play no part until they initiate a declaration that they have abandoned their stubborn and futile ambition to replace Israel, that they officially abandon their “Pay to Slay” rewards system to Arabs that murder Jews, and back that up with clear actions such as declaring Ramallah as their capital instead of Jerusalem, and announce that they reject claims to territories on which Israeli town and villages exist and in which Israelis live and work.
Even then, they will have no control over Gaza.
In a distant future, it will be up to a Gazan Government to decide if they wish to confederate with a Palestine based in Ramallah, or with their northern neighbor, Israel.
These dreams and ambitions have no hope of being realized if Turkey and Qatar set foot in Gaza.
Barry Shaw is at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.