(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, officially stated his post-war plans for Gaza, which included a snub to United States diplomacy.
He called for Israel to preserve its ongoing military presence and the preservation of a security buffer zone, which is deemed unethical by the United States. He also outlined in his letter his goals of demilitarizing the governance of Hamas and rescuing Israeli hostages.
Israel wishes to “maintain its operational freedom of action in the entire Gaza Strip, without a time limit, as well as to retain a security buffer within the besieged territory,” he said.
“The security perimeter being created in the Gaza Strip on the border with Israel will remain as long as there is a security need for it,” the document said.
The United States, an ally of Israel and a supporter of aid to the country during the war, is against the buffer zone and has spoken out previously about its desire not to add a buffer.
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller, in December, said “There must be no reduction in the size of Gaza. That remains our position and it will remain our position. So if any proposed buffer zone was inside of Gaza, that would be a violation of that principle, and it would be something that we oppose.”
Not only did Netanyahu talk about a buffer zone but he also said that he wanted a “southern lock” on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency to be removed from the region, because of the role he believed they played in the October 7 attack.
He did not mention Palestinians and said that they have no plans to reclaim Gaza or deport Palestinian civilians. The grounds of his plans and the document are well against what Washington would like, which is creating a discrepancy in Israel-US relations.
There aren’t many details on if the document has been sent to Netanyahu’s war cabinet or not.
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