Israel Expert: Annex Depopulated Gaza

The controversial policy that is making waves in diplomatic back channels and military circles

tldr;

Hamas holds 50 hostages. Hamas and Gazans fear losing land more than losing life. Israel should annex 2% of the depopulated land it controls in Gaza, every day. And it should move the border fence accordingly. You will quickly see Hamas and their ilk give up the hostages.

This is a way to quickly end the violence, return the hostages and end the war.

That’s all there is to it. If you want more details, keep reading.

Background

Hamas started this war on October 7, 2023. All of the deaths and destruction in Israel and in Gaza that have happened since them as a result of that fateful day, lays squarely on Hamas and their ilk.

Of course, all Hamas has to do is surrender (and thus give up its reign of terror over Gaza) and release all of the hostages, and the war would end. And they could get away with not having any Gazan land be annexed by Israel.

However, as Hamas is unlikely to do that, then a better way has to be found to pressure them. That way is to use the leverage of losing land.

Historically, every attempt by the non-Israeli Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, to fight Israel, has aimed at one goal: To eliminate Israel and reconquer and recolonize all of the land that Israel controls.  That is because they value land more than anything, including life itself. Don’t take my word for it. Look at what they do. Listen to what they say. They say it outright and their actions back it up.

So land is their point of weakness. And Israel should exploit that. Israel should make it clear that there is a tangible cost for using terrorism against Israel and starting wars against Israel.

Israel should make it clear that using violence against Israel in order to achieve political, ideological and extremist religious aims, is counterproductive and costs the attackers more than it is worth.

What is the goal of this policy?

This policy is not about eliminating more terrorists, although of course the IDF should keep on doing that to the best of its ability as long as that is the mission.

This policy is not about occupying Gaza. Occupation is counterproductive in the long run, especially as long as the education of the people in occupied areas continues to be violently antisemitic.

This policy is about achieving a strategic, significant, long term success in Israel’s quest to stop the wars and terror campaigns that its enemies continue to attempt every once in a while. This policy is aimed at setting up the foundations for achieving peace between Israel and the non-Israel Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza that call themselves Palestinians. This policy is about exploiting the inefficiencies of the realpolitik and the thing that Israel’s enemies care more about than anything: Land.

And that is why this policy has a high probability of success.

Why should Israel annex 2% of the depopulated areas of Gaza per day?

Do the math. There are 50 hostages in Gaza. For every day that they are not released, if Israel annexes 2% of the depopulated areas of Gaza that it controls, each and every day, then within 50 days, Israel will annex 100% of the depopulated areas of Gaza that it controls.

Currently Israel controls some 2/3 or more of Gaza. And the depopulated areas are not insignificant.

The Hamas and Gazans do not want to lose a square nanometer of land. And the Hamas does not want to lose land more than it does not want to lose more Gazans, let alone more terrorists.

And if for some bizarre reason Hamas would not give up the fight within the 50 days, then Israel should continue to take over and depopulate more and more of Gaza until there is practically nothing left except a tiny area big enough to allow the Gazans to live in, uncomfortably.

Why should Israel do such a thing? Isn’t this inhumane?

Israel should do this because this is the cost of starting a war against Israel. This is how Israel can win the war, without question, and win the respect of its enemies who view the use of force and the conquering of land by force as the way to fight and win wars. This is also the best way to ensure a rapid reduction, even a stoppage, in the loss of life as a result of the war. So this is in fact a humane solution.

Israel is not Europe. Israel is not the United States. Israel is a bastion of Western values, democracy and freedom, on the Western shore of the Middle East. Israel needs to be tough in order to survive. Israel can not be weak kneed like the European Union, if it wants to survive the endless onslaught of jihadi Islamist extremism. Like it or not, Israel has to fight its enemies not only in accordance with international laws and rules of war like the Geneva Conventions. Israel has to fight its enemies with methods that its enemies understand and respect and accept as finality for the conflict.

This policy short circuits the Islamic interpretation of the Koran and its derivative commentaries, which allow Islamists to lie openly in order to achieve fake truces, cease fires and other gains, in order to get their ultimate aim: Victory by violence.

By forcing the Islamists to stop fighting or risk losing more land, Israel makes it clear that the cost of using terror and violence is simply too high for them to pay.

And yes of course, as long as Iran and Qatar continue to pay Hamas to fight, some people in Hamas will keep up the fight. However, their number will be far fewer and they will not be able to remain in power, if the vast, overwhelming majority of Gazans, including those who currently still support Hamas, will turn against Hamas and use whatever force they have, to help oust Hamas from power and free the hostages.

Isn’t it ethnic cleansing?

No. It is not ethnic cleansing for a nation that was attacked, to win the war against the aggressor that started the war, and then annex some or all of the land that it took during its military campaign of self-defense. Especially when that land is depopulated, practically devoid of its former inhabitants. This is completely allowed and done in practically every war in history between neighboring people.

Again, don’t take my word for it. Learn some history. See how many people were moved out of the way after World War 2, in order to ensure the peace after the war. Millions of Germans were moved from areas that the Allies had conquered during the war. Many other nations also saw many millions of people moved around from one place to another, following that war. And practically every other war in history that involved land being conquered, saw relatively significant migrations during or after the war.

When should Israel implement this policy?

The sooner the better. It should be announced by Israel and it should be stated that the Hamas and their ilk have 24 hours to release all of the hostages, or else Israel will begin to annex 2% of the depopulated areas of Gaza that it controls, every day, until the hostages are released and Hamas surrenders. And that it will continue to take over more of Gaza as necessary during the 50 days of annexation, and if the Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages and surrender, then Israel will continue to annex 2% of the depopulated areas of Gaza that it controls, every day, until there is practically no land left for Gazans.

This is a carrot and stick that can end the conflict once and for all.