Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 9 January 2024Netanyahu Postpones Gaza Security, Administrative Plans Until After Israel’s Oct. 27 Election
3 West Asian3 Western Mainstream2 Israeli5 Other source typesPhoto: U.S. Department of State / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Postponed deployment of international force and Gaza Administration Committee until after election. Move tied to Netanyahu's political calculus ahead of Oct. 27 vote.
13 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Economist Warns Netanyahu Election Could Accelerate Israelis’ Exodus From Israel →
Postponed Gaza steps
Benjamin Netanyahu postponed security and administrative arrangements for the future of the Gaza Strip until after Israel’s Oct. 27 election, according to Israeli media, with delayed measures including the deployment of an international force and the arrival of a committee to administer the territory.
KAN said Netanyahu ordered a delay in the travel of about 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt for police training, despite being approved by Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency, and the outlet framed the decision as part of “a series of steps concerning the future of the Gaza Strip that the Israeli political leadership has postponed until after the election.”
The delayed measures also included preparations to build a new city in Rafah, the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, and the arrival of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
The Shin Bet gave security clearance to between 5,000 and 7,000 Palestinians considered for police training in Egypt, while the agency’s role was limited to vetting names submitted to it by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
Netanyahu denied approving the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza in August, even though its deployment is part of Trump’s plan to end Israel’s war on the territory.
Election stakes and polling
Israel’s first election since Benjamin Netanyahu presided over the most devastating security failure in the country’s history has put him on the cusp of a vote while he hawks himself as the security candidate of choice, CBC said.
Tamar Hermann, a senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) in Jerusalem, told CBC News that “We are back to where we were Oct. 6 [2023] in terms of the fact that the nation is split almost in the middle, electorally speaking,” and she warned that the result could be indecisive or a minority government.
Opinion polls in the weeks ahead of the vote have consistently suggested neither side will win the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the Israeli Knesset.
Reuven Hazan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told CBC that “Israel has moved to the right ever since Oct. 7,” and he said that might explain why the current government in the polls has not collapsed completely.
Netanyahu is currently being tried on allegations of corruption, including fraud, bribery and breach of trust, and he has refused to appoint a commission of inquiry into the failings of Oct. 7 despite public pressure.
Police briefing and authority
Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg rejected a petition to block a discussion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stressed that Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have no authority to direct police on election integrity or preparations, The Jerusalem Post reported. Police Commissioner Danny Levy pledged that police would protect voters and act impartially against attempts to disrupt the election, and Levy said, “We will not allow violence, threats, incitement or criminal activity to undermine the will of the voters.” Sohlberg said the prime minister and national security minister could meet with the commissioner about general public-order issues and ask him to present police preparations, while responsibility for administering the election and safeguarding its integrity rests with the Central Elections Committee and its chairman.
The petition was brought by Bochrim BeYisrael and the organization argued the meeting would violate prohibitions on interfering with elections and using public resources for election campaigning. Netanyahu argued the briefing concerned security preparations against serious warnings of terrorist attempts to disrupt the election or influence its conduct, and Baharav-Miara summarized in Sohlberg’s decision that police act in coordination with and under the direction of the elections committee chairman on election administration and public order during voting.