Israel’s war cabinet and its security cabinet are due to meet in Tel Aviv tonight to discuss plans for “the day after” the war in Gaza, according to Israeli reports.
The government has been criticised for previously delaying talks on such a crucial issue.
The US, Israel’s closest ally, has been pushing for a clear plan on who will govern Gaza after the war so that the Israeli military does not remain indefinitely in the territory. Its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is scheduled to return to the Middle East this week.
Israeli media suggest that the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing opposition from his far-right coalition partners about Gaza’s future.
The official government position is that Gazans will be able to return to their homes after the fighting. However, this week both the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, have been calling for Palestinians to leave the strip.
The two men are part of the security cabinet but not the war cabinet and objected to key decisions being made there in their absence.
“What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration,” Mr Smotrich told Army Radio on Sunday. He said that Israeli settlers should be allowed to return to “make the desert bloom.”
Such comments stir up fears in the Arab world that Israel intends to displace Palestinians by force from Gaza.
