Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a televised interview Wednesday that Israel intends to take full military control of the Gaza Strip, but stressed that the IDF has no desire to permanently govern the territory.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu said Israel’s goal is to establish a security perimeter and eliminate threats emanating from Gaza before transferring authority to “Arab forces that will govern it properly.”

“We intend to,” Netanyahu said when asked whether Israel will seize control of the entire 26-mile coastal enclave. “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body.”

The prime minister stressed that Israel’s long-term objective is not occupation, but stability — both for Israeli citizens and for the people of Gaza.

“We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening us, and [to give] Gazans a good life,” he said.

Netanyahu’s comments come as he prepares to greenlight a massive, months-long operation to take over the entire Gaza, renewing debate over who — if anyone — will govern the territory once the fighting ends. The statement also signals that Israel may seek regional cooperation to shape Gaza’s post-war future, though Netanyahu did not specify which Arab forces might take on that role.

The international community, including many Arab governments, has thus far expressed reluctance to assume administrative control over Gaza without clear guarantees for reconstruction, governance, and long-term stability.

No timeline for the proposed handover was mentioned.

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