After more than a year since the horrific Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, it is unbelievable not only that the war continues, but that it has reached depths of destruction, killing, and hopelessness that likely many of us did not believe possible at this time last year.
Let's remember that it was toward the end of November of 2023 that the first and only hostage release and ceasefire deal was accomplished, freeing 105 hostages held by Hamas and allowing for six days free of assaults on Gaza and the ability to get crucial aid and medical attention into the strip.
It seemed that at the very least, a framework had been set for future deals and that a diplomatic solution had proven its worth, that all sides would work to ensure conditions could soon be met to resume negotiations and reach an even more comprehensive deal to release the remaining hostages, bring an end to the war, and look toward a day-after plan including a resumption of negotiations for two states.
Perhaps it is naive to say that what transpired in the past year was unexpected, but nonetheless, much of what has happened has shocked even the most seasoned analysts and experts.
For that reason, we should also begin to examine some of the long-held beliefs that have become standard discourse regarding this war, namely the idea that there is no day-after plan.
There very much is a day-after plan, and we must take it seriously.
"The General's Plan," proposed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland calls for Israel to evacuate all the residents of Northern Gaza into the south by sealing off humanitarian aid to Northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas militants. Anyone remaining in the north would be declared combatants, and therefore legitimate targets of the IDF.
Senior officials in the IDF have acknowledged that certain parts of this plan are already being implemented, mainly the pressuring of inhabitants in the north of Gaza to leave, with no guarantees that they will be allowed to return once the war ends.
In addition to military action in the strip, earlier this month, Netanyahu's Likud party sponsored a conference called "Preparing to Resettle Gaza", which 32 lawmakers of the Likud party attended.
Most recently the Knesset passed two bills that will prevent UNRWA from operating in Israel. While one can have disagreements and even serious critiques and concerns about UNRWA, the fact remains that no other aid agency can provide the services of UNRWA and without them, the situation in not only Gaza but also the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem will become even more dire.
For the better part of a year, many analysts, critics, and organizations - including us - have centred our critiques on a lack of a day-after plan and Netanyahu's craven desire to stay in power no matter the cost.
And while the Netanyahu government has not released an official day-after plan, this defacto plan, hidden in plain sight, demands our attention and our alarm.
There is a comprehensive, multi-phased, well thought-out plan at play here - if Israel opposes Hamas ruling Gaza, refuses to let the Palestinian Authority take control, rejects the presence of Arab forces for Palestinian self-governance, weakens and shuts out UNRWA, forces Palestinians in Gaza out of certain areas, and lays plans for future settlements in said areas, then it is incumbent upon us to see the government's plan for what it is -- their intention to completely erase the Palestinian people.
Resources, financing, and public support have all been invested into this plan. Resources, financing, and public support that all could've gone into ending the war, securing a hostage release deal, strengthening moderate Palestinian forces for governance in the strip, rebuilding the Kibbutzim, Moshavim and towns in Israel's south, returning displaced Israeli residents to both the south and north of Israel, and resuming two-state negotiations.
A deliberate, defined, and well-thought-out day-after plan does exist and it promises only further bloodshed, violence, and lack of security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Netanyahu, his government, and his supporters want us to continue to lament the lack of a day-after plan so that they can continue to implement their actual day-after plan.
Anyone who cares about Israel, Palestine, and the millions suffering as a result of this never-ending war would do well to call this plan what it is - ethnic cleansing and a second Nakba - and then push back against it with all our force.