Israeli Admission: Gaza Peace Council is the Truest Expression of "Our Political Failure"

While the occupying state expresses its objection to the composition of the Peace Council and the administrative committee for the Gaza Strip, Israelis are raising sharp questions to their government, which has led to Turkey and Qatar participating in the Peace Council that will govern Gaza, claiming that this poses a security risk to them, given that both countries support Hamas and are not friends of the occupation, while Turkey generally seeks regional hegemony.

Avi Shilon, a writer for Yedioth Ahronoth, stated that "the right-wing government is responsible for the deterioration of affairs to this level, because one of the options was to replace the Hamas regime with another Palestinian system, but it refused to allow the Palestinian Authority to control Gaza, claiming it could not be trusted. Among other options was involving more moderate countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but the Israeli refusal to respond to the Saudi demand to announce its agreement to the two-state solution, even in principle, also led to the collapse of this option."

Shilon added in an article that "another option is to continue fighting Hamas and militarily govern Gaza, but despite Smotrich's ambitions, the cost of staying in Gaza is extremely high, almost impossible, even for a right-wing government. Thus, the government, which rejects any possibility of negotiating with the Palestinians themselves, found itself facing the only remaining option to replace the Hamas regime through a 'Peace Council' that will govern Gaza, and which includes, it should be noted, friendly countries, alongside Turkey and Qatar."

The writer explained that "the United States has its own interests in involving Qatar and Turkey in the administration of Gaza, but it is important to remember that without the pressure exerted by these two specific countries on Hamas to agree to Trump's plan, the movement would not have accepted it. Therefore, the problem for Netanyahu, who deceived Israelis with the slogan of 'complete victory,' lies in his inability to tell them the truth, because for those who oppose any Palestinian option and at the same time reject the occupation of Gaza, the best possible alternative is an international council that includes powers not aligned with Israel."

Shilon pointed out that "another reason for this current reality is the government's refusal to discuss 'the day after' throughout the war, and its failure to initiate any plan for post-Hamas, which allowed the United States under Trump to impose its position. It now seems too late to argue with the administration, especially since Trump's handling of the French president, due to his opposition to the policy towards Greenland, indicates the seriousness of entering into disputes with him."

He also affirmed that "the current scene in Gaza today expresses the reality of Israeli political failure, despite the military achievement that weakened Hamas. However, this is the chronic problem of the Likud, which suffers from the difficulty of converting military achievements into political options, and contenting itself with a policy of reactions. This calls for the potential opposition bloc to define its alternative policy, and not just be content with the clear need for correction from the current government's policy."