As Israel prepares for a ground invasion, its most likely post-war plan for the Gaza Strip will resemble its occupation of the West Bank, which will tie Israel's military down, alienate its allies abroad and destabilize its current government. Israeli politicians are giving hints about what the post-war political and security situation in the Gaza Strip might be. On Oct. 20, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel's military campaign would create a new ''security regime'' in Gaza, and said the war would proceed in three phases. The first, he said, would be an air and ground campaign to break Hamas' formal control of the Gaza Strip. The second phase would then focus on eliminating pockets of Hamas forces, while the third and final phase would implement a ''new security regime'' that would allow the Israeli military to step back from formal control of Gaza. His comments came a...
