Netanyahu puts architect of GHF in centre overseeing Gaza aid and ceasefire
One of the key architects of the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been appointed as Benjamin Netanyahu’s representative at the US Army's Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), Channel 12 News reported.
The centre, which is meant to coordinate relief and monitor the ceasefire, was launched on Tuesday alongside US Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel.
Netanyahu's appointment of Michael Eisenberg, an Israeli-American businessman, "indicates his desire to maintain control over all contacts with the Americans on the Gaza issue, and not to allow the defence establishment to deal with the issue independently," Channel 12 said.
Eisenberg, a venture capitalist who heads the Aleph fund, reportedly played a key role in the establishment of the GHF, which has been mired in controversy ever since it was set up by Israel and the US to sideline the UN and monopolise aid deliveries to Gaza.
In March, Israel prohibited all aid from reaching Gaza after it unilaterally broke a ceasefire to resume attacks on the Palestinian enclave. After weeks of total siege, it set up four GHF distribution centres - three in the south and one in central Gaza.
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Aid workers condemned the system for failing to deliver anywhere near the necessary aid, as famine was officially declared in Gaza by the world’s hunger monitor.
Meanwhile, in the three months from late May when the GHF sites were established, at least 2,300 Palestinians were killed, mostly by the Israeli military, while seeking food and aid.
Of these, at least 1,021 Palestinians were killed at or near GHF aid distribution sites.
Since the ceasefire began more than a week ago the GHF stopped all activities and left its distribution centres.
Eisenberg grew up in New York in a religious Jewish family and emigrated to Israel, where he became a major investor in Israeli high tech.
He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in the illegal settlement of Alon Shvut in the occupied West Bank.
Last May, Eisenberg told the Israeli newspaper Globes that despite Israeli society being polarised on several issues, "there has been almost no dispute on the issue of a Palestinian state", which Israelis are overwhelmingly against.
Recently, former prime minister Ehud Barak filed a libel suit against Eisenberg after the businessman accused him of endangering national security following the sale of the Israeli offensive cyber company, Paragon Solutions, which he co-founded.
Now, according to reports, Eisenberg, 54, will be one of two Israeli representatives at the CMCC.
Yaki Dolf, a brigadier general at the Israeli army, will be the army's representative in the coordination centre alongside Eisenberg.
The commander of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, said last week that the coordination centre’s goal is to "bring together stakeholders who share the goal [that] successful stabilisation in Gaza is essential for a peaceful transition".
"Over the next two weeks, US personnel will integrate representatives from partner nations, non-governmental organisations, international institutions, and the private sector as they arrive to the coordination centre," Cooper said at the centre’s unveiling on Tuesday.
About 200 US military personnel are expected to take part in the coordination centre.
When Vance visited the centre, he said he was "very optimistic”.
“Can I say with 100 percent certainty that it’s going to work? No,” he stated.
The vice president’s visit to Israel has been described in the US and Israeli media as "Bibisitting" - keeping a close eye on Netanyahu to make sure he doesn’t undermine the ceasefire.
A senior Israeli official told public broadcaster Kan 11 Vance's visit is “like a protectorate".
"The Americans are monitoring every action and are doing everything possible to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, including preventing us from certain actions at times," the source added.
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