Firmly Rejecting Buffer Zone Development Plan, Palestinian PM: We Face the Re-Occupation of Gaza

JAKARTA - Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah that Israel was again trying to occupy the Gaza Strip and was drawing up plans to build a buffer zone in the area, something he firmly rejected and called on the international community to do the same.

"We are facing the re-occupation of the Gaza Strip and plans to build a buffer zone in it. We completely reject this plan and call on the whole world to reject it," reported the Palestinian news agency WAFA quoting the prime minister's statement, quoted by TASS, December 5.

"The buffer zone damages (the structure of) the Gaza Strip, even though its territory must be expanded based on UN resolutions," he added.

According to PM Shtayyeh, the area of ​​the enclave used to be around 555 square kilometers, but currently, the area is only 364 square kilometers.

Previously, The Times of Israel quoted an Israeli official as reporting that the country had no plans to maintain troops in the enclave after the ground operation ended.

However, they are discussing establishing a "security buffer zone" on the border with Gaza. According to the newspaper, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shared this plan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Israel wants a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from north to south to prevent Hamas or other militants from infiltrating or attacking Israel," said a senior regional security official, one of three regional sources who asked not to be named, as quoted by Reuters.

When asked about the buffer zone plan, Ophir Falk, a foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Reuters: "The plan is more detailed than that. It is based on a three-stage process."

Elaborating on the Israeli government's position, he said the three stages were the destruction of Hamas, demilitarization of Gaza, and deradicalization of the enclave.

"The buffer zone may be part of the demilitarization process," he said. He declined to provide details when asked whether the plan had been raised with international partners, including Arab countries.

Meanwhile, a US official, who declined to be named, said Israel had "raised" the idea of ​​a buffer zone without saying to whom. However, the official also repeated Washington's rejection of any plans that reduce the size of Palestinian territory.

It is known that Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries have raised concerns that Israel wants to expel Palestinians from Gaza, repeating the land confiscation that Palestinians experienced when Israel was founded in 1948. The Israeli government denies this goal. Israeli troops last withdrew from the enclave in 2005.

Separately, two Egyptian security sources said Israel had raised the idea in mediation talks with Egypt and Qatar, to disarm northern Gaza and establish a buffer zone in northern Gaza with international supervision.

The source said several Arab countries opposed this. While Arab countries may not oppose a security barrier between the two sides, there are disputes over its location, they added.