Netanyahu responds to Gallant that he “will not allow” Hamastan to become Fatastan

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Israeli Defense Minister “will not allow” an Israeli civilian or military government in Gaza

May 15. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticized his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, this Wednesday for his position against installing an Israeli military or civilian government in the Gaza Strip and has assured that he “will not allow” the government to be replaced. Hamas or “Hamastan” by one related to the Al Fatah party of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and thus converting the enclave into a “Fatastan.”

“After the terrible massacre of October 7, I ordered the destruction of Hamas. As long as Hamas remains intact, no one will be able to manage civil affairs and certainly not the Palestinian Authority. 80 percent of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) support the terrible massacre of October 7. I am not willing to change from Hamastan to Fatastan,” he argued in a video message.

Netanyahu is referring to a December poll by the Palestinian Center for Politics and Pollution indicating that 82 percent of the West Bank population supports the October 7 attacks. In March, the same organization placed support at 71 percent in a new study.

“The Palestinian Authority supports terrorism, educates for terrorism, finances terrorism and that is why my first condition for there to be another actor is the elimination of Hamas without excuses,” he added.

The prime minister has thus responded to Gallant, a member of his own party, the Likud, who urged the president to make “difficult decisions” and warned that he would not “allow” an Israeli civilian or military government in the Gaza Strip. Gallant believes that after defeating Hamas, an “alternative government” must be promoted.

“If there is no alternative, the only two negative options that exist are a Hamas government or an Israeli military government. Indecision means choosing one of these two bad options,” he argued.

Netanyahu has also rejected accusations of improvidence and has stressed that they have been dealing with the issue of the Gaza government for months after the defeat of Hamas. This is what he referred to as a plan approved three months ago for non-Hamas Gazans to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza, but the plan failed because Hamas threatened and attacked the participants.

“Until it is clear that Hamas does not govern Gaza militarily, no one will be able to take over the civilian government of Gaza for fear of their own safety,” he warned. Thus, debates about “the day after” are insignificant until Hamas is defeated.

Netanyahu has also criticized last week’s vote in the UN General Assembly to increase Palestinian statehood rights. “No one will prevent us from exercising our right to defend ourselves, neither the UN General Assembly nor anyone else (…). We are not going to reward the terrible massacre of October 7. We are not going to allow the creation of a terrorist state from the that they can attack us vigorously,” he noted.