Israel military says approved plan for new Gaza offensive

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00The IDF has formally approved Israeli plans for the conquest of Gaza, days after the government

00:06announced that it would be widening its military offensive.

00:09Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has been reiterating the suggestion, also

00:14enthusiastically floated by Donald Trump, that Palestinians should simply leave the

00:19territory.

00:20Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which could be launched in October,

00:25has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the

00:31besieged enclave.

00:33Well, for more, let's cross live now to Noga Tarnopolsky.

00:36She's our correspondent on the ground in Jerusalem.

00:39Noga, the IDF have formally approved this plan, despite, you know, concern among senior members

00:46of the Israeli military, as we've discussed previously.

00:49Have we learned anything new about what exactly this plan entails?

00:55Good evening, Sharon.

00:58Amazingly, we really have not.

01:01We still are in deep fog of war.

01:07What we know, again, as you just said, is that the Israeli cabinet voted to take over the city

01:15of Gaza, not the entire enclave of Gaza.

01:18Although the prime minister himself, in his public statements, has been very, very confusing about

01:25that.

01:26Sometimes talking about Israel having the intention to take over the entire enclave, sometimes

01:31saying Israel does not want to take over the entire enclave and will simply take over

01:36the city of Gaza.

01:37That remains unclear.

01:38And what we heard today, as you said, is that the army has, quote, approved plans for the

01:46expansion of the war in Gaza.

01:48We've gotten no details about it.

01:51We believe that these are probably just plans regarding the, you know, the invasion and

01:58the occupation, at least temporarily, of the city of Gaza.

02:02But we received no details.

02:04We do know that the chief of staff of the army opposes it.

02:08And we also know, as you just said, that no matter what, this is not a plan that can begin

02:14immediately.

02:15This is a plan that, in a best-case scenario, from the Israeli point of view, will take two

02:20months to put underway.

02:21Today, we got a hint of just how difficult this might be for the Israeli government, because

02:27Prime Minister Netanyahu's minority government, he no longer has a majority in parliament, was

02:33unable to muster the votes needed to pass the legislation required for the Israeli army to

02:41issue new call-up notices for hundreds of thousands of reservists.

02:46So even that basic step, allowing the army to issue call-ups, for now has been postponed

02:53indefinitely until the government can get some sort of majority together.

02:57Minister, earlier as well, you know, talking about how people who are concerned about

03:03Palestinians should, as he said, open their gates and stop lecturing Israel.

03:08What exactly is his objective here?

03:10As you say, he seems to be changing his tone depending on who and when he's speaking at this

03:16stage.

03:19That's right.

03:20And it really is difficult to know.

03:22So it's sort of become the $24 million question in Israel, what does Netanyahu want?

03:29And one of the conclusions here tonight is that what Netanyahu wants is to keep us all

03:36guessing, to keep us all on tender hurts, waiting to see what he'll decide, to keep us all in

03:43doubt about what our next day.

03:45In the state of Israel, no one knows whether school will start September 1, whether they'll

03:50be able to return to work, or have to return to military service.

03:54The extent of the confusion here is really difficult to describe, and that may be the point.

04:02We had some hints today of what Netanyahu is confronting.

04:06The court determined that as of the fall session, as of the end of the summer recess, he will be

04:14obliged to testify three times a week in his corruption trial, no more wartime excuses.

04:22And we know that he is completely isolated, diplomatic, but there are even questions about the possibility

04:28of his traditional UN General Assembly speech next month.

04:33So, it does appear right now that he is sort of scrambling, waiting to see how things develop,

04:40and intentionally not making any clear plans known.

04:44Thanks so much for joining us with that.

04:48That is Noka Tarnopolsky, France 24 correspondent in Jerusalem.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended