The “Generals’ Plan” for Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

The massive displacement of people we’re currently seeing in northern Gaza is part of an explicit plan for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in that area, known as the “Generals’ Plan.” Although that label shouldn’t hide the reality that Benjamin Netanyahu’s civilian government is carrying it out with the full support of the Biden Administration.

There is currently no sign that the incoming Trump Administration will be any less enthusiastic in providing full support for even the most blatantly genocidal actions Netanyahu’s government undertakes.

Idan Landau has summarized the Generals’ Plan this way:

The “Generals’ Plan,” published in early September, has a very simple goal: to empty the northern Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population. The plan itself estimated that about 300,000 people were still living north of the Netzarim Corridor — the Israeli-occupied zone that bisects Gaza — although the UN put the number closer to 400,000.

During the first phase of the plan, the Israeli army would inform all of those people that they have a week to evacuate to the south through two “humanitarian corridors.” In the second phase, at the end of that week, the army would declare the whole area a closed military zone. Anyone who remained would be considered an enemy combatant, and be killed if they didn’t surrender. A complete siege would be imposed on the territory, intensifying the hunger and health crisis - creating, as Prof. Uzi Rabi, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University, put it, “a process of starvation or extermination.”

According to the plan, providing the civilian population advance warning to evacuate guarantees compliance with the requirements of international humanitarian law. This is a lie. The first protocol of the Geneva Conventions clearly states that warning civilians to flee does not negate the protected status of those who remain, and therefore does not permit military forces to harm them; nor does a military siege negate the army’s obligation to allow the passage of humanitarian aid to civilians. [my emphasis] (1)

Deutsche Welle English reports: (2)

Dahlia Scheindlin looks at what the outgoing Biden Administration could do to end the war, or at least move significantly in that direction:

The putative common aim of ending the war is misleading, though, since there are actually two paths to do so: One is by limiting Israel's capacity to wage it; the other is by giving in to Israel's most maximalist goals, in what has long since transformed from a defensive military response to a war of conquest.

The Trump administration could well take the latter path: Trump's former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has published his plan to crush Palestinian self-determination forever. Friedman could also play a key role in the next Trump administration. ...

If Biden wants to assert a coherent Democratic alternative, he needs to admit that bear hugs and bribery have not worked. What's left is to constrain Israel's capacity. A Democratic policy should anchor a cease-fire in Gaza to a long-term end of the occupation as a whole – this is not a punishment, but a service to Palestinians and Israelis alike. [my emphasis] (3)

The chances of that happening are vanishingly small, of course. But the Biden Administration is still in control of foreign policy until Trump’s Inauguration in January. So it’s worthwhile to point out what the real options are. It’s still possible to save some lives in the Gaza War. Whether Biden’s Administration has any real intention to do so is another question.

Scheindlin asks a pertinent (and obvious) question: “After Israel has breached so many administration ‘red lines,’ how low can U.S. credibility go? What power can America ever have if it can't enforce its own ultimatum with an ally, let alone opponents?”

She closes by noting why its worth shouting into the abyss:

Perhaps the biggest caveat of all [is]: If President Biden had been truly committed to either stopping the war or advancing conflict resolution – he could have taken the steps [I’ve recommended] already. The State Department's decision on Tuesday to drop the threat of military export sanctions seems like a sure sign that he won't start now.

But never let it be said that "ein ma l'asot" – there's nothing to be done. If not this list, fine – but Joe Biden must do something.

Notes:

(1) Landau, Idan (2024): Exterminate, expel, resettle: Israel’s endgame in northern Gaza. +972 Magazine 11/01/2024. <https://www.972mag.com/exterminate-expel-resettle-israel-northern-gaza/> (Accessed: 2024-13-11).

(2) Israel's Gaza siege fuels speculation about so-called 'Generals' plan''. DW News YouTube channel 10/28/2024. <https://youtu.be/ZO38GHKW8zo?si=9HxD2TG1gk9PZdm0> (Accessed: 2024-13-11).

(3) Scheindlin, Dahlia (2024): What 'Lame Duck' Biden Can Do to Stop the Gaza War. Haaretz 11/13/2024. <https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-11-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/what-lame-duck-biden-can-do-to-stop-the-gaza-war/00000193-24db-db8b-addf-7cdb5d200000> (Accessed: 2024-13-11).