Good Morning,
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sought to allay fears that Israel intends to remain in Gaza permanently after it unseats Hamas from power.
The fears are from the International community of a renewed occupation of Gaza which Israel left in 2005 when it unilaterally pulled out troops and settlements, after occupying the enclave since 1967.
Blinken said “Israel cannot continue to occupy Gaza, the only question is, is there some transition period that will remain in place”.
His comments followed an interview given by Israeli P.M. Netanyahu to ABC in which he said "I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility, because we have seen what happens when we don't have it”.
"When we don't have that security responsibility, we have the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine” said Netanyahu referring to the attack on Israel on Oct 7 which claimed the lives of 1400 Israeli’s and with more than 240 Israeli’s kidnapped and still held.
The war on Gaza has killed more than 10 thousand Palestinians to date and displaced more than a million people from Northern Gaza to the south of the narrow strip which borders Egypt.
The Biden Administration supports a 2 state solution and the return of the Palestinian Authority to run the West Bank and Gaza together.
But the late Yassir Arafats Fatah Organization, which is the majority of the PLO, was forced out of Gaza in 2006 because of corruption and infighting, and the current leader Mahmoud Abbas is seen as weak and unable to lead Palestinians in the current crisis.
Israeli’s also don’t want to be stuck in Gaza for years to come.
I can tell you as a journalist who spent years covering the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the occupation was misery for Palestinians but also for Israel.
Palestinians spent their days throwing rocks and stones at patrolling Israeli soldiers, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas on a daily basis, and often with live fire when protests became to large.
Israeli soldiers were often ambushed in their patrols through Gaza, as Palestinians obtained weapons through tunnels and smuggling routes out of Egypt.
The OSLO peace accords envisioned a Palestinian Authority which would peacefully rule Gaza, and the West bank with Gaza being linked by road.
But about the last thing Israel wants in the wake of Oct 7, is for the West Bank to which is closer to Israeli cities, to mirror what on Tuesday Israeli Defense Minister Gallant called Gaza , “the largest terrorist base in history”.
Israeli’s will be even more hesitant to leave the West Bank than before, because at least now soldiers can enter Palestinian cities to disrupt terror cells, and dismantle weapons facilities.
Whatever you may think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, here’s a few facts you need to consider.
Most Israeli’s don’t want the West Bank, or Gaza and haven’t wanted them for decades. No Israeli wants to serve his/her army duty patrolling Palestinian areas.
But support for a Palestinian State is hard to find now, because of continued terror attacks out of Palestinian territories on Jews.
If Israelis could have peace tomorrow by withdrawing from the WestBank, they would support the idea, as they did when former Israeli P.M. Rabin signed OSLO 30 years ago.
Rabin was assassinated by a religious jew at a peace rally in Tel Aviv in 1995, not long after the accords which paved the roads towards a Palestinian State, were negotiated.
And as OSLO progressed, and Israeli forces left Palestinian areas, Hamas was chief among Palestinian extremist groups to carryout terror attacks inside Israel, including bus bombings in Tel Aviv.
For Israeli’s, Gaza and Hamas’ attack on Oct 7 now serves as the greatest monument to the notion, more autonomy, more freedom for Palestinians will mean more terror, not less.
Palestinians would argue if they had been allowed autonomy and statehood, the end occupation would have dulled the blade of extremists and terror wouldn’t threaten Israel.
But if you were an Israeli, living close to the West Bank or Gaza, what would your preference be?
To give the running of Gaza and the West Bank fully to Palestinians which include Hamas? And to relive another Oct 7?
Or to maintain control so your army has avenues of approach to conduct raids to dismantle terror cells when you feel the threat to Israel increase?
Israel won’t easily return Gaza to Palestinian control now. Especially not after it’s soldiers fight and die retaking the area to stop future terror attacks.
And no amount of International pressure will easily turn the clock back.
On Back Story this week I talk to former Israeli diplomat and advisor to Israeli Governments Alon Pinkas.
Pinkas believes Gaza could be run by an International force, or trusteeship, but that will be a hard sell in Israel and will take time and exhaustion with reoccupying Gaza.
***Have a listen - so just copy and past this link into your browser****
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/13933695
Dana