Concerns in the Gaza Envelope Over Foreign Forces Entry: "Disarming Hamas is a Prerequisite for Reconstruction"
While the terrorist organization still possesses war-fighting capabilities, the cabinet in Jerusalem has agreed to allow the International Peace Council and international stabilization forces to launch a pilot project for the reconstruction of the Rafah area. Eshkol Regional Council head Michal Uziyahu stated to Prime Minister Netanyahu and cabinet ministers: "The State of Israel must not allow a reality in which civil reconstruction processes advance in parallel with the revival of the terrorist organization that carried out the most severe massacre in the country's history."
The Security Cabinet's decision to approve the entry of the International Peace Council into Gaza, initiating reconstruction without conditioning it on the disarmament of Hamas, is causing concern among residents of the Gaza envelope. Michal Uziyahu, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet ministers: "As those who bear the consequences of every decision made regarding the Gaza Strip daily, we wish to express our position clearly - there must be no progress to the next stages of the Gaza Strip reconstruction process as long as Hamas has not been disarmed and has lost its military and governing capabilities."
As part of the decision regarding the Peace Council, established at the initiative of US President Donald Trump, the move is expected to begin in Rafah. A political source emphasized that the International Stabilization Force (ISF) entry involves "at this stage, only about 200 representatives from friendly countries such as Uganda and Morocco." At the same time, the stabilization force is expected to include soldiers from Kosovo and Kazakhstan in the first stage, with contacts ongoing with Albania, Vietnam, and Georgia.
Uziyahu expressed a sharp protest against the move. "On October 7, the residents of the Western Negev paid the heaviest price, when hundreds of our families lost their loved ones," she wrote. "For us, the question of disarming Hamas is not a theoretical or political issue - but a basic condition for the safety of our children, the existence of our communities, and our trust in the State of Israel's ability to ensure that such a failure does not repeat itself. The State of Israel must not allow a reality in which civil reconstruction processes advance in parallel with the renewed strengthening of the terrorist organization that carried out the most severe massacre in the country's history."
Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Struck, who expressed her opposition to the plan, replied to Uziyahu: "The destruction of all of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the full demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and the removal of any threat from it towards the State of Israel - are part of the war goals set by the cabinet, and have never been changed or cancelled." The minister added: "Throughout the war, I insisted that these goals be fully realized, and the IDF will not leave the Gaza Strip as long as they have not been achieved. These goals, sanctified by the blood of our soldiers, as well as by the blood of the victims of the Simchat Torah massacre, were fixed about a year ago in another cabinet decision that defined the conditions for ending the war, and were even fixed in the Trump plan for the Gaza Strip."
The "Future for the Envelope" movement stated: "We are not returning to October 6 - we do not reconstruct Gaza before removing the threat. The residents of the envelope have already paid the heaviest price for security concepts that turned out to be a failure. We will no longer accept decisions based on hope, working assumptions, or promises. The lesson of October 7 must be the basis for every decision made regarding Gaza. Any process of reconstruction or political move must begin only after Hamas ceases to be a military and governing threat to the State of Israel."
