Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, on Sunday proposed a plan to improve living state of affairs in Gaza in exchange for calm from the enclave's Hamas rulers, aiming to solve "never-ending rounds of violence". The Foreign Minister presented a new "economy for security" plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

During a security conference at the Reichman University on Sunday, Lapid said that since the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in 2005, Israel's policy, which included the blockade, restrictions on imports and exports of goods, and four rounds of war, has not been effective in halting repeated attacks by Hamas and other militant groups, as per reports.

Mr. Lapid said the plan, which includes infrastructure and employment benefits, was to show Palestinians in the Israeli-blockaded enclave that Hamas's campaign of violence is "why they live in conditions of poverty, scarcity, violence and high unemployment, without hope". Lapid, who is also the alternate prime minister, said the goal of the new plan is "to create stability on both sides of the border". He stressed that the Jewish state will not negotiate with Hamas, because "Israel doesn't talk with terror organizations that want to annihilate it". The first phase of the plan focuses on an "upgraded humanitarian reconstruction of Gaza", Lapid said.

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