JC Israel Briefing Day 543: Israel to ‘occupy a quarter of Gaza’

Some officials say the goal is to advance a plan for the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians. Others warn this could lead to open-ended military control over more than two million civilians, with no clear exit strategy or long-term governance plan.

IDF spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee yesterday instructed residents to relocate to Al Mawasi, saying: “The IDF is returning to intense operations to dismantle the capabilities of the terrorist organisations in these areas.” The evacuation order is the largest since the war resumed in mid-March.

In the West Bank, security forces have disrupted a Hamas cell accused of plotting shootings and bombings. Six suspects from Nablus were arrested in January and February. The Shin Bet claimed the cell received funding and instructions from Hamas operatives in Turkey. During the arrests, police recovered an M16 rifle and over 60,000 dollars in cash. A buried bomb was also found near the Gitai Avisar Junction.

And in Lebanon, Israel carried out an overnight air strike targeting a Hezbollah operative accused of coordinating with Hamas to plan an imminent attack on Israeli civilians. The IDF and Shin Bet said the strike, in Beirut’s Dahieh district, was necessary to eliminate an immediate threat. This was the second Israeli strike in Dahieh since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.

A senior Hamas official has called on supporters around the world to take up arms in response to Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza relocation plan. Sami Abu Zuhri said: “In the face of this sinister plan… anyone who can bear arms, anywhere in the world, must take action.” He added: “Do not withhold an explosive, a bullet, a knife or a stone.” Trump has suggested relocating Gaza’s population to other countries, and then rebuilding the Strip. He later denied any intent to forcibly remove Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned the United States against carrying out the Trump plan. “If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei also responded to Trump’s new threat to bomb Iran if it does not comply with his wishes, saying: “If the enemies are thinking of stirring any sedition inside the country, the Iranian nation will respond to them.” According to AFP, Khamenei’s adviser, Ali Larijani, later threatened to develop nuclear weapons if the US strikes. He was quoted saying: “We are not moving towards [nuclear] weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself.”

Two senior aides to the Prime Minister were arrested by police yesterday in the scandal of alleged ties to Qatar. The aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, were described by Netanyahu as political hostages, provoking fury. He fumed in a video that law enforcement is “simply using them as hostages, embittering their lives for nothing and no reason”.

The “hostages” reference was widely seen as insensitive due to the plight of hostages in Gaza, and the word “embittering” appeared to be a reference to the Passover story in which Pharaoh “embittered” the lives of the Israelites.

Netanyahu’s critics, from right to left, were furious. Avigdor Liberman of the rightist Israel Beytenu party said his comments show he is “totally disconnected” from the Israeli public. The centrist Benny Gantz of the National Unity party declared: “Prime Minister: while you’re making time for investigations, 59 hostages are counting the seconds. Our hostages, kidnapped on your watch, aren’t aides questioned for one day over wartime ties to Qatar—they’re people rotting in enemy tunnels for 542 days.”

Key points on the topic:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave two hours of open testimony yesterday in connection with the investigation. He is not considered a suspect but was summoned by police following an order from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The questioning took place at his office in Jerusalem, not at a police station.

The arrests of Urich and Feldstein were carried out by the Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit. Meanwhile, a journalist was reportedly questioned under caution.

Channel 13 reported that investigators suspect Urich and Feldstein of four offences: contact with a foreign agent, fraud, money laundering and bribery. Their names had previously surfaced in connection with Qatari-funded public relations work in Israel, including activity tied to the 2022 World Cup.

A gag order imposed by the court restricts publication of further details in the case. However, police have acknowledged that the investigation concerns potentially unlawful financial ties between Qatari interests and people working inside the Prime Minister’s Office. The probe is being run jointly by the police and the Shin Bet security agency.

Likud fiercely condemned the arrests. The party described the detention of Urich as “an unprecedented assassination attempt against democracy.” The High Court has temporarily blocked the removal of current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar while allowing Netanyahu to interview replacement candidates.

Finally, Netanyahu has cancelled his choice of Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet. Sharvit’s reported participation in 2023 protests against the judicial overhaul drew sharp opposition from within the coalition. His criticism of Trump drew opposition from Washington – in January he published an opinion article on climate policy saying that the US President “is pushing the Earth into the abyss.”

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