By Shabbir Rizvi
On October 29, a leaked memo from the Israeli regime appeared on the internet, drawing widespread condemnation from not only Palestinians but from netizens across the world.
The secret document, conceptualized within the Israeli intelligence ministry, is an advisory paper that proposes the idea of forcing over two million people in the besieged Gaza Strip into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
After the document’s validity was verified, Wikileaks translated the document, originally in Hebrew.
Totaling ten pages, the main plans of the document detail the following stages:
1. Instruct Palestinian civilians to vacate north Gaza ahead of ground offensive
2. Sequential land operations from north to south Gaza
3. Routes across Rafah to be left clear
4. Establish tent cities in northern Sinai and construct cities to resettle Palestinians in Egypt
This is in direct contradiction of what the Israeli occupation regime is telling the world, and what the US and its media apparatuses are echoing for them.
The Zionist occupation on one hand is saying that they are bombing only resistance targets, which is untrue: there are now 8,000+ Palestinians dead, almost half of them children.
On the other hand, their internal documents are drawing out a plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the besieged coastal territory, in a plan that many have called the “Nakba 2.0.”
The document even goes on to say that the Zionist regime intends to “make it clear that there is no longer any hope of returning to the territories that Israel will occupy in the near future.”
This rhetoric goes in line with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech late last week, comparing the ongoing genocidal campaign with the first Nakba of 1948.
Every stage in this document is an egregious violation of Palestinian human rights and part of the Zionist regime’s long-term plan to push over 2 million Palestinians out of their land in one operation.
The final result would be tent cities in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, and a heavily militarized border between Egypt and occupied Palestine. Egypt would be pressured into accepting this outcome.
While each stage is conducted, the Israeli regime will continue to bomb Gazans, wiping out as many as it can under the guise of “defending itself.”
Nowhere in the document is there a call to end this bombing campaign or any language of a ceasefire.
The Zionist regime would hope to demand the acceptance of this document to continue carrying out these attacks, as the document requires the stages be executed “in a way that does not incite and blacken Israel.”
Israel is expecting the Western regimes, through their media apparatuses, to provide political cover.
So while the document insists an effort be made to make these steps look “humanitarian,” the stages of the documentation evidently promote aggression and atrocity.
Stage one insists on having Palestinians vacate north Gaza. This leaves them with no choice but to move south – to the east, they will be met with Israeli ground forces, and to the west is the sea – where they will be met with Israeli gunboats.
The logical conclusion is to force each section of Gaza – from north, all the way to south Gaza – deeper and deeper into the Rafah crossing, exterminating Palestinians along the way with genocidal bombings.
Some Gazans have already attempted to flee south – and had been bombed in the process anyway. So the Zionist endgame becomes clear – it’s either run and be exterminated, or stay and be exterminated.
Moving forward to stage two of the document: the most important part here is “land operations from north to south Gaza.” This stage points to an eventual military sweep of the Gaza Strip.
By forcing thousands of people from stage one to evacuate south, the Zionist army intends to create a zone of control with each area they move into.
If the document is met with approval by Israel’s main backers – Western governments – then it will have the full backing to kill every man, woman, and child as an act of “self-defense.” This is why the document seeks to frame this mission as a “humanitarian” one before such an assault can take place.
Stage three includes routes across Rafah Crossing to be left clear. For years, Egypt has opposed the Palestinian refugee movement into its borders.
Another reason why the document calls for international support for this assault is to pressure Egypt into accepting the mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, forcing them to help construct tent cities and camps on the Sinai.
Egypt would also be forced into giving the Israeli regime “security” guarantees while doing so, or be met with pressure via “soft” power (sanctions, threats) from Western regimes.
Therefore, “clearing the route” is the language intended for the Egyptian government – that they will not interfere with or prevent the influx of Palestinian refugees moving into the one location they can have left after being forced out of Gaza.
For now, Israel has demanded the Rafah crossing be mostly closed, allowing for only limited supplies to be transferred in. However, it has conducted frequent bombings in this area, despite being a place for humanitarian aid to be delivered to people in Gaza.
And finally, point four – which has been Israel’s preferred plan for some time, particularly during the Netanhayu regime. This describes a massive push of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt – laying the ground for a complete Zionist takeover of the Gaza Strip under “humanitarian grounds.”
Further language in the document details that Israel, with the backing and partial facilitation of Egypt, would establish a “closed security zone stretching several kilometers inside Egypt.”
The Palestinians would also have no way back to their homes in Gaza and would have to accept life in a refugee camp in Egypt or even be moved elsewhere along the Mediterranean Sea.
The document also egregiously demands that Gazans accept this plan, forcing the besieged population to be co-signers in their own expulsion.
It is obvious that the idea of the permanent expulsion of Palestinians is being floated within the ministries of the Zionist regime.
The document makes it completely clear that the Zionist regime would prefer Palestinians be expelled from Gaza entirely, leaving no room for return – and anyone in the way would be annihilated.
It is important to note the timing of this proposed maneuver. There have been several bombing campaigns against Gaza throughout the past few years.
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm (also known as Al-Aqsa Flood) has changed the game – the Zionist regime is in panic as it is losing the battle politically, socially, and militarily.
Some within the Zionist ranks think this is the last chance they will get to rid the Gaza Strip of the Palestinians, as much of the damage against the Zionist regime is already done – they are being condemned by millions internationally.
Because of the growing unpopularity and international condemnation of Israeli aggression, this document was likely leaked to “test the waters” of the solution to the international community – primarily, the leaders of Western regimes such as the United States – before the full draft is put into play.
Despite the document only being an advisory draft, the Zionist regime is aiming to push their maximalist goals early on in order to utilize the “fog of war” before the dust settles.
If cheered on by the Western regimes (primarily the US), would be contrary to all of the rhetoric Israel has had during the course of the Al Aqsa Storm operation, as well as the rhetoric of Western regimes that pretend they care about the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.
Throughout not only the course of Operation Al Aqsa Storm but through decades of brutal ethnic cleansing, Western regimes have held a false line of a “two-state solution.”
The reality is they know a two-state solution will fail, as they give the Zionist regime full political and military backing to commit atrocity upon atrocity on the Palestinians.
This document in a way alludes to what the Zionist regime knows they can get away with if they have the backing of the West – primarily the United States.
It is abundantly clear that the Zionist regime intends to commit an ethnic cleansing on the scale of the 1948 Nakba. The international community failed the Palestinian people once. Will they do it again?
Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst focusing on US internal security and foreign policy.
(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)
