Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with the American television “Fox News“ that Israel intends to take temporary control of the Gaza Strip, but without aiming for permanent occupation, BTA reports.
“We do not want to keep Gaza for ourselves. We want to provide a security perimeter, but we do not want to govern it. "Our goal is to hand it over to Arab forces," Netanyahu explained.
The interview was broadcast on the eve of a meeting of the Israeli Security Council, which will discuss potential plans for occupying the territory.
The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), General Eyal Zamir, expressed disagreement with such an idea. He stressed that the army does not support a long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza and will defend this position during the meeting.
“These are matters of life and death, in defense of the country. We are working in the interests of our soldiers and citizens. We will continue to act with responsibility, integrity and determination, thinking only of the security and prosperity of Israel,“ Zamir said.