Jerusalem, 25 October. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed until the 27 October parliamentary election a series of measures on the future of the Gaza Strip, from training a Palestinian police force to deploying international forces, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported.
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu ordered a delay to the departure of Palestinians for police training in Egypt. The broadcaster KAN specified that about 7,000 people were involved and that the trip had been approved by the Shin Bet security service. Preparations to build a new city in Rafah, the deployment of an international stabilisation force and the arrival of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza have also been put off. The instructions, according to the newspaper's sources, came in stages over recent weeks rather than in a single order. "Netanyahu has halted a great many initiatives concerning the Gaza Strip in recent weeks and postponed them until after the elections," a source told Israel Hayom. The prime minister's position, according to the newspaper, is unchanged: no reconstruction and no police force in Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed.
On the eve of the vote, Israel announced that it would close all land crossings with the West Bank on election day. Netanyahu warned Iran: "You will suffer blows out of all proportion" (video). US President Donald Trump urged Israelis to re-elect Netanyahu.
What it means: On the Israeli side, Trump's Gaza plan is effectively frozen until the election. Which of the postponed measures go ahead after the vote depends on who forms the government.
Who benefits: Netanyahu avoids giving right-wing rivals grounds to accuse him of concessions before the election, observers believe. Gaza's residents lose, as reconstruction and a new administration are delayed.
Background: Trump's Gaza plan provides for Hamas's disarmament, an international stabilisation force, a Palestinian technocratic committee and reconstruction overseen by the Board of Peace. The Knesset election is set for Tuesday, 27 October. The Board of Peace is the body overseeing Trump's Gaza plan; according to the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Israel's rift with it has practically frozen the plan to disarm Hamas until after the vote.
We have also reported that Netanyahu closed Hebron and threatened an operation in the West Bank.
