Netanyahu delays Gaza security plans until after Israeli election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed critical security and administrative arrangements for the Gaza Strip until after the Oct. 27 election, shelving plans for an international stabilization force and the training of thousands of Palestinian police officers in Egypt, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

Election Timing

Netanyahu ordered a delay in the travel of approximately 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt for police training, a move previously approved by Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN. The outlet reported that the decision forms part of "a series of steps concerning the future of the Gaza Strip that the Israeli political leadership has postponed until after the election." The delayed measures also include preparations to construct a new city in Rafah, the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, and the establishment of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

US Peace Plan

The Shin Bet had granted security clearance to between 5,000 and 7,000 Palestinians under consideration for police training in Egypt, the Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom reported. The agency’s role was restricted to vetting names submitted by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, the newspaper said, noting that Shin Bet officials lacked authority to approve the actual travel. Informed sources told the paper that instructions to delay reconstruction emerged from Israeli political leaders in stages over recent weeks, and that the delays may reflect concerns that Gaza reconstruction efforts and police training in Egypt "do not serve Netanyahu’s political interests at this time."

Violence Continues

In August, Netanyahu denied approving the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, although its deployment forms part of Trump’s plan to end Israel’s war on the territory, which Hamas accepted in July. The Board of Peace roadmap calls for transferring Gaza’s administration to the national committee under international supervision, placing Hamas’ weapons under committee responsibility, and carrying out a phased Israeli withdrawal alongside reconstruction. Despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, the Israeli army has killed 1,551 Palestinians and injured 5,573 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, while the total death toll since October 2023 has exceeded 74,000 with over 175,000 wounded.