It's been about 10 days since the ground offensive began in Gaza and no clear mechanism to end the war has thus far been referenced in any way. But first Hamas must be defeated not only in the northern section of the strip.
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Once tangible results point to that achievement, a diplomatic triangle, involving Israel, the United States and the United Nations will decide on a new governmental mechanism for all Gaza strip residents, likely with no Israeli influence on day-to-day operations.
There seems to be a misconception in which the IDF crushing Hamas in northern Gaza would be sufficient to clear the enclave of their presence, but it's important to acknowledge the southern part, south of Wadi Gaza, is of equal importance.
Either way, early signs of an arrangement suggest some sort of a custodial arrangement governing Gaza, clear of any Hamas. As it stands, some governing mechanisms in side Gaza still answer to President Abbas and the upper echelon of the Palestinian Authority, even 16 years after Hamas took over.
Arab states will supply a certain influx of funds for humanitarian purposes, and initially, IDF and Shin Bet will retain security arrangements until a permanent solution can be established. That said, Israel has no wish to stay in Gaza indefinitely, rather limiting its stay until all Israeli communities surrounding the strip will be under no security threat whatsoever.
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After visiting Israel, Sec. Blinken met with President Abbas
(Photo: AFP PHOTO / HO / PPO)
A second stage, more transitional in nature, would follow. While civilian control will be surrendered to the Palestinian Authority, IDF and Shin Bet will retain intelligence capabilities. At this point, US suggests an international force will police the enclave as well.
On the outskirts, some security areas will allow Palestinians to work in agriculture, but not stay there for extended periods of time, and certainly will not be allowed to be armed or set up any observation posts.
The US position still revolves around the idea of a two-state solution, with a safe passage corridor between Gaza and the West Bank. Regardless, this current far-right Netanyahu coalition is not expected to advance a substantial round of negotiations like the Americans want, seeing as many of them are ideologically opposed to the very idea of a Palestinian state to begin with.