Gazan journalist Sami Obeid claims residents of the Gaza Strip are pinning their hopes on a new Israeli government led by Gadi Eisenkot, expecting it to end Hamas rule and rebuild the Strip. In an interview with Ido Tauber’s news show, Obeid addressed the dire situation in Gaza today (Monday), expectations from an Eisenkot government, and the potential role of Arab parties in the next government.
4+“80 percent of Gaza residents are living in tents and we’re in the water and what can we do,” Obeid described the situation in the Strip after recent rainy days. “The situation is so difficult in every way, waiting for change and there’s no change. Waiting for the technocratic government that Israel will approve to enter Gaza.”
When asked who is responsible for the dire situation in the Strip, he replied: “All Gaza residents know that Hamas brought them only disaster.” According to him, residents are waiting for a technocratic government to replace Hamas rule and manage daily life in the Strip.
Obeid claimed that Netanyahu’s government is preventing the entry of the technocratic government. “They will rule Gaza, manage the lives of Gaza residents, rebuild the buildings and there will be a different Gaza, but when will this happen? Nobody knows,” he said.
4+“90 Percent of Gaza Residents Want What Eisenkot Promises”
Later in the interview, Obeid claimed Gaza residents are waiting for a government led by Gadi Eisenkot, hoping it will lead to a change in Israeli policy toward the Strip.
“All the residents are waiting for a new government to be formed in Israel. And they keep asking me, do you think Gadi Eisenkot will succeed in forming a government?” he said.
Obeid expressed confidence that Eisenkot will succeed in forming a government, and claimed the public in Gaza sees him as someone who might end the current situation.
4+“The question is why are Gaza residents waiting for Eisenkot for there to be change? Because he keeps talking about change and he said ‘I will rebuild Gaza and I will leave Gaza and I won’t let Hamas rule Gaza.’ And that’s what 90 percent of Gaza residents want and are waiting for,” he claimed.
Obeid also addressed Eisenkot’s statement about the possibility of bringing 100,000 workers from Gaza into Israel, and his remarks about rebuilding the Strip and withdrawing from it on condition that Hamas disarms and doesn’t return to power.
“All the residents agree to this and want it,” Obeid claimed, but added: “The question is when? Another year? A few more months? When will the difficult situation that all Gaza residents are living in end?”
4+“If the Situation Doesn’t Change, We’ll Leave”
When asked if Strip residents want to leave Gaza, Obeid replied that most want to stay in their homes, but clarified that continuation of the current situation could lead to a change in their position.
“Most residents are attached to Gaza and to living in it,” he said. However, he stressed that significant change must occur, either through establishing a technocratic government or through another change in the Strip’s status.
When asked if Gazans would leave the Strip if the crossings opened and they were given the option to leave voluntarily, he replied: “There are residents who want to leave. Everyone says ‘if the situation doesn’t change, we’ll leave. What do we have to stay for?'”
4+Obeid criticized Israel and claimed it isn’t allowing change in the situation: “The crossings are closed, they’re not allowing the technocratic government to enter and not allowing change. So what do you Israelis want? You talk about transfer, about not rebuilding, about many things and don’t execute, only talk.”
“Give the Arabs Five Ministers and the Knesset Speakership”
In the second part of the interview, Obeid addressed the Arab parties in Israel and their achievements in the recent elections, in which they won 19 seats combined.
When asked if Gaza residents are in contact with Arab Knesset members, he answered negatively, but immediately turned to them with a demand to leverage their political power in the framework of coalition negotiations.
“We’re not in contact with them and I’m appealing to all of them, don’t enter the government without getting all your rights,” he said.
Obeid demanded that the Arab parties receive five cabinet posts, and even proposed Knesset member Ahmad Tibi for the position of Knesset speaker in place of Amir Ohana. “And you’re looking for who will be Knesset speaker instead of Amir Ohana, so here’s Ahmad Tibi,” he said.
He later claimed the Arab parties are entitled to representation according to their strength in the Knesset. “The ‘Palestinian’ Israeli voters who went to the polls, they all went and got 19 seats. Give them what they deserve.”
The On-Air Confrontation: “Nobody Harmed Jews in Arab Countries”
Toward the end of the interview, a confrontation developed between Obeid and host Ido Tauber, after the Gazan journalist claimed that Jews were received with love in Arab countries and weren’t persecuted there for thousands of years.
Obeid claimed that Israel’s definition as a Jewish state indicates extremism, and wondered if the meaning is that only Jews are allowed to live in it.
“You Jews lived in all Arab countries and they received you fine and with love,” he said. He later added and claimed that for 2,000 years no one harmed Jews in Arab countries, from Morocco to Oman.
Tauber sharply rejected the remarks and reminded Obeid of the pogroms and persecutions experienced by Jewish communities in Arab countries: “Nobody did anything to them? Sami, do you know the history of the Jewish world? Do you know what happened to Jews in all Arab countries? What pogroms? What they suffered? Arabs in Israel live like kings compared to Jews who lived in Arab countries.”