Israel is raising the alarm by suggesting an ‘indefinite’ role in Gaza

But in Gaza the Authority is less likely to agree. “I seriously doubt, after the experience in the West Bank, that anyone will be willing to repeat that experience on the Palestinian or Arab side,” he said.

Zakaria al-Qaq, a Palestinian analyst, suggested that what Israel was discussing represented an occupation, whatever it is called.

“You’re either there permanently or you won’t be there,” he said of Israel’s future role in control of Gaza. “You either stay or you don’t stay. General security control means being present everywhere and in every corner. It means taking on social, educational and health care needs and responsibility for the enclave, which is exactly what Israel says it will not do.

Despite Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, by most legal definitions, it still occupies the territory, as it controls Gaza’s airspace, its coastline, all land borders except those with Egypt, and the vast majority of goods entering and Gaza residents allowed to leave. Lawyers call this “functional occupation,” says Michael Sfard, a lawyer who specializes in war law.

Even before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Israel controlled “all layers of control,” including the population register for births and deaths in Gaza, Mr. Sfard said. “The test for occupation is the level of control,” which is why the international judgment is that Israel continues to occupy the strip even though it is not responsible for collecting the waste, he said.

And if Israel chooses to treat Gaza even as Area A in the West Bank, where it is free to enter and leave with its forces as it pleases, that would provide an even clearer reason to call it an occupation, said Mr. Sfard. .