What Are the Hidden Goals Behind Netanyahu's Decision to Occupy Gaza?

SadaNews - It is hard to believe that a Prime Minister like Benjamin Netanyahu can make a decision for war and occupy new territories against the recommendations of the military. The Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who is credited with the idea of occupying Gaza, and who approved the minute details of the plan and presented it ready to Netanyahu, tells him that after reviewing the plan, studying the details, and assessing the risks, he finds that this plan should be replaced with something else. He warned him that this occupation could threaten the lives of the Israeli hostages held by "Hamas" and lead to the deaths of many Israeli soldiers. However, Netanyahu insisted on incorporating the word "occupation" (which he replaced at the last minute with the word "control") into the plan.

Of course, there are many misleading statements and deceptions in the decision. The Israeli cabinet granted the army a full two months to prepare for the occupation, during which it gave it a chance to try out the "siege, combat, and displacement" plan without occupation. This led the extremist minister Bezalel Smotrich to say that nothing has changed in the Prime Minister's policy and he is still maneuvering within the framework of traditional politics, which does not decisively resolve the battle against "Hamas" and opens the door to negotiations.

There are those who do not rule out that this timeline could be deceptive, as Israel still believes in military deceptions as the basis of its policy, as we have observed in its management of the war since its onset, especially with "Hezbollah," Iran, and Syria. It is not unlikely that Netanyahu intends to continue dragging "Hamas" into pitfalls.

However, the decision essentially serves Netanyahu's political, party, and personal goals. He needs a warlike fervor to maintain his government, knowing that stopping the war would open against him the main war he fears, which is the internal war to oust his government.

This is how he has acted since he learned of the Gaza occupation plan. As disclosed by Brigadier General Erez Feiner, who devised the Gaza occupation plan when he was the head of the operations division in the southern brigade of the army. He developed the plan a year ago, when Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was in office. Netanyahu was enthusiastic about it and saw it as a tool to achieve his goals. He clung to it and demanded its approval and implementation. However, Halevi refused it, finding it a quagmire for the army and a threat to the Israeli hostages held by "Hamas." This rejection was one of the main reasons that led Halevi to resign and was instrumental in choosing Eyal Zamir as his replacement as Chief of Staff.

According to Feiner, Zamir studied this plan in depth and intervened in its details, approving it in coordination and agreement with Netanyahu. But Zamir faced a different reality on the ground. He began to meet with field officers who confirmed the dangers of the plan, and he sensed the situations of the soldiers and their frustrations with this war, which does not seem to have a real strategic goal and appears endless. He then listened to warnings about the heavy price of this occupation; the economic cost, loss of life, public reaction, and international and regional response. Zamir retreated and devised an alternative plan that involved imposing a siege on the Palestinians in three areas, pushing them south to encourage displacement, and conducting limited strikes against "Hamas" forces, encroaching on their areas of control but without complete occupation.

Here came Netanyahu's uprising. He chose to insist on occupation, even if only propaganda-wise, through combat statements and the official decision. In this way, he portrays himself as the "strong, stern leader." By openly disagreeing with the military leadership, he satisfies the instincts of the extreme right, which wants to show that the political leadership is the true leadership that commands the army. Thus, he advances his plan to overthrow the governing system and the judicial system, as he besieges and restricts the liberal deep state. Furthermore, he achieves his desire to remain in power. According to the timeline established by the cabinet for the occupation of Gaza (two months of preparation and three months of military operations on the ground and two years to tighten control), he can not only continue in power but also work to postpone the scheduled elections for October 2026.

These are the hidden goals behind the decision to occupy Gaza. However, achieving them is another matter that depends on the reactions in Israeli, American, and global streets. If these reactions affect the White House, the equation could change. Currently, Netanyahu has received a green light from Washington, as President Donald Trump, angry with "Hamas," clearly told him: "Do what you want to hit them (Hamas), but make sure to prevent the Gazans from falling into famine." But the green light could turn yellow and perhaps red if Israeli, Arab, and global pressures succeed. It is not a coincidence that the families of the hostages directed their demonstrations on Friday toward the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.