Gaza likely to be partitioned between Israel and Hamas, officials say

European officials fret that second phase of US peace plan may never be implemented, leading to a deadlock with Gaza de facto partitioned into Israeli and Hamas sectors.

By World Israel News Staff

There is growing concern among European and Arab governments that the temporary division of the Gaza Strip into Israeli-controlled and Hamas-ruled sectors could become permanent, amid fears the US-backed Gaza peace plan will not be fully implemented.

Eighteen different sources, including six European officials and a former American official, told Reuters that it appears increasingly likely that phase two of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan will never be implemented, given Hamas’ ongoing refusal to surrender its weapons.

With no end to the impasse in sight, foreign governments worry that plans for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, giving way to an American-backed pan-Arab, pan-Muslim security force will be shelved, leaving Israel in control of more than half of the Gaza Strip.

The most common scenario should the two sides remain deadlocked over stage two of the peace plan, the sources told Reuters, is a de facto partitioning of Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Currently, Israel controls between 53% of Gaza, according to official Israeli statements, and 58%, according to third-party estimates.

Less than 2% of the Gaza Strip’s population of roughly 2 million lives on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line.

Recently, IDF forces in Gaza have begun placing large yellow cement blocks along the so-called Yellow Line, demarcating the truce boundaries – a step which some say points to the long-term presence Israel’s military is planning in the coastal enclave.

Along with Hamas recalcitrance, the second phase of the peace plan faces other hurdles, including reluctance among US allies to contribute soldiers to the international force needed to police Gaza.

While a number of countries have expressed interest, 10 diplomats cited in the Reuters report said governments remain hesitant to actually deploy troops to the war-torn area.

A de facto partition of Gaza could prevent the rehabilitation of the west side of the Yellow Line, under Hamas control, officials say.

While US officials have suggested that reconstruction could begin soon on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, a long-term division of the Gaza Strip with Hamas left in control of much of the area complicates plans for rebuilding the territory.

Israel’s military has reportedly objected to calls by the US for Gazans relocated to new communities on the Israeli side of the border to be given freedom of movement across the Yellow Line, raising security concerns over such an arrangement.

If Gazans are not permitted to cross back and forth, however, officials fear those settling in the new townships would be isolated from the vast majority of the population, creating a massive disincentive to relocating.