Why is airdropping humanitarian aid a challenge?

Israel has begun intensive official contacts with tribes in the Gaza Strip in order to hand over to them the rule of specific quiet areas in the Strip, in an attempt to install an alternative rule to the rule of the Hamas movement, which is one of the goals of the current war on the Gaza Strip, which is based on undermining the movement’s rule and ending its military capabilities.

The Hamas movement seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 after participating in the 2006 elections, in which it achieved great success after competing with the Fatah movement, before relations between the two movements deteriorated, which prompted Hamas, in mid-2007, to take a decision. By taking military control of the Gaza Strip, which led to a state of division and major rifts among the Palestinians at various levels, which continues to this day.

Today, for the first time after 17 years of Hamas rule, Israel is seeking to end it by force, and it seems that it wants to repeat the “failed” American experiments carried out in Iraq and Afghanistan, after the overthrow of the government there, in agreement with tribes and local authorities to administer an alternative civilian rule.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented, before the Israeli War Council, a plan aimed at forming a civil administration in Gaza, after disarming the factions, within the framework of the plan known as “the day after the war on Gaza.”

Sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities, headed by Israeli army officer Ghassan Alyan, a Druze who is fluent in Arabic, communicated with figures from some tribes in the Gaza Strip that were originally at odds with the Hamas movement.

According to the sources who preferred not to mention the names of these clans for social reasons, the communications were partially successful and were mostly unsuccessful. The sources said: “Many tribes rejected the Israeli proposal to form armed groups to protect specific and specific areas located within a geographical range, under the pretext of providing security and controlling the situation, and even confronting the remaining pockets of Hamas elements.” But a large clan agreed, and another is still in negotiations.”

The sources explained that “communications now focus on individuals in a large clan whose presence is concentrated in the southwest and east of Gaza City. It is an armed clan, and it caused serious incidents during the war, including the killing of many members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, in the Al-Sabra neighborhood. And control of their weapons and ammunition, during their attempt to confront repeated Israeli incursions into the neighborhood during the war.”

She added: “Members of that clan informed Israel that they are ready for initial cooperation with it if Hamas is eliminated, provided that this cooperation is ongoing and based on providing services to Gazans in the area where the clan is located.”

This clan is spread in the neighborhoods of Tal Al-Hawa, Al-Sabra, and parts of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, all of which are located southwest and east of Gaza City, and has now become more in control of the situation in these areas.

The difficulties faced by Hamas forces allowed the movement of armed men belonging to several tribes, a situation that Israel exploited in order to initially test the ability of the tribes to protect aid sent to Gaza.

Israeli security officials called on their political leadership to allow armed groups in Gaza to secure aid trucks entering the Strip.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that with the aim of preventing looting and robbery against humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip, security officials in Israel are trying to push the idea of ​​having armed groups of local residents in Gaza, and clans other than Hamas, secure the aid trucks.

A senior security official said that the weapons that the tribes will use to secure aid will not come from Israel. But he added that Israel must allow the entry of weapons to those elements in Gaza, after obtaining the approval of international bodies such as Egypt, the United States, and Jordan.

The senior security official added, “The army will not secure humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza, and if we want aid to reach those who need it, we must create an alternative to Hamas to manage local affairs in the Strip, even if that is through armed groups from Gaza residents.” Only the people of Gaza will manage Gaza, and our policy is to work so that they do not turn into something similar to (Hamas).”

Sources in the Hamas movement responded to Asharq Al-Awsat, explaining that the movement has sufficient information about the communications taking place and also carefully monitors all violations committed by armed men with the aim of chaos and sabotage, including theft of aid and incitement to the movement.

The sources confirmed that the Hamas leadership took a decision to hold them accountable, and “they will pay the price for their actions later.” She added: “Those who cooperate with the occupation and those who caused the killing of resistance fighters will not escape judgment.”

In practice, there is what can be described as a “revenge” between “Hamas” and some tribes, after the movement, after taking control of the Gaza Strip, launched a massive campaign during which it attacked some tribes and seized their weapons as part of what it called at the time “controlling security” within the Strip and preventing the spread of Chaos and rampant weapons.

Hamas sources confirmed that all of the occupation’s post-war plans for Gaza will fail, and its fate is doomed to that before it even begins.

Israel has not yet tested the effectiveness of its plan, which is rejected by the United States and Arab countries that are working to hand over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, after carrying out reforms within it.

Political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim ruled out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan, which he presented to the Cabinet, regarding establishing civilian rule in Gaza in the wake of the war and imposing Israeli security control, would succeed. Ibrahim told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This plan was tried by the United States for years in Iraq and other countries, and failed. Israel, in light of its inability to deal with the reality inside the Gaza Strip, is trying to replicate failed experiments in the hope that this will lead to the overthrow of Hamas’ rule.” )». He added: “The entire plan is dangerous, and will have catastrophic repercussions on the Palestinian reality if implemented.”

Citizens also doubted that Israel would succeed in completely eliminating the Hamas movement. Muhammad Salama (49 years old), a displaced person from the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood to Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, said. The idea of ​​managing the sector by the tribes will not succeed, because it is based on a policy “whose goal is to liquidate the Palestinian issue, which is something that cannot happen in light of the continued occupation, killing and destruction, as generations are born, and it is difficult to forget their central issue.”

The young man, Haitham Omar (32 years old), said that handing over the administration of the Gaza Strip to the tribes is just an illusion, and Israel cannot succeed in achieving it, because the Hamas movement, along with other factions, still exists.

Soha Rabaa, who still lives in the Beach camp, a large part of which was destroyed by the occupation, agrees that the idea of ​​assigning the tribes will not succeed. She said that entrusting the tribes with the security of the Strip is “an Israeli plan to create more chaos in Gaza.” She added: “We want real Palestinian authority.” We want a decent life. We want safety and security.”