Board of Peace officials have briefed reporters in recent days about their plans to establish a pilot humanitarian zone in the Rafah area of south Gaza.

The idea is to have Israel pull back its troops from the designated area and be replaced by soldiers from a yet-to-be-deployed International Stabilization Force (ISF) who would secure the borders of the humanitarian zone.

The committee of Palestinian technocrats tasked with replacing Hamas in governing the Strip would finally enter the enclave and work with the ISF to vet the tens of thousands of Palestinians coming from the Hamas-controlled “red zone” into the “green zone” that to date has been occupied by the IDF.

There, tens of thousands would have access to temporary housing, humanitarian aid and safety at levels sorely lacking in the rest of the Strip.

The Board of Peace hopes that the pilot humanitarian zone will serve as a model that can be used to separate civilians from Hamas, thereby weakening the terror group’s grip on society.

The US-controlled panel overseeing the postwar management of Gaza was hoping to establish such humanitarian zones months ago but had been hoping to first coax Hamas to give up its weapons in order to allow reconstruction to proceed at a much greater scale.

Disarmament talks have dragged out for months, though, with Hamas insisting that Israel first adhere to the terms of the ceasefire reached in October. Israel says it is responding to violations by Hamas.

Unwilling to condition relief for Gaza on those negotiations, the Board of Peace wants to move ahead with the establishment of the first humanitarian pilot zone, and its leadership discussed the idea at a meeting in Cyprus last week, according to an official from the body.

But the plan remains on paper, as they still require approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which is unlikely to authorize even the smallest of IDF withdrawals as the fall parliamentary elections approach.

While a Board of Peace official said there is ongoing........

© The Times of Israel