The Reasonable Route to Victory in Gaza
The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to provide immediate unhindered access of humanitarian supplies to besieged southern Gaza. Israel should comply despite the risk that some supplies will be stolen by Hamas for two reasons: 1) It’s the right thing to do, 2) Hamas stealing supplies will not slow victory by the reasonable route.
The reasonable route begins at Gaza’s northern border. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) must work its way south from there in small steps clearing land of weapons and people and, then, holding that cleared land with a guarded fence. Anchor both ends at Gaza’s northern border and push the middle progressively south past Khan Younis (https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-peoples-plan-for-permanent-peace-in-palestine/). Usher peaceful Gazans out of harm’s way and into this refuge by passing through fail-safe security gates. Prohibit weapons and communication technology. No doubt some terrorists will slip through. But terrorists without weapons or communication technology are manageable by a standard police force. Provide temporary housing and all necessities.
Build a second guarded fence further south of Khan Younis with both ends anchored at the southeast Israeli border. Usher suspicious Gazans out of harm’s way and into this refuge through fail-safe security gates. Prohibit weapons and communication technology. Strip search if necessary. Again, provide temporary housing and all necessities to the suspects, and continually encourage them to embrace peace. Invite those who demonstrate evidence of such embrace to apply for entry into the larger, more northerly refuge that will become the City of Gaza. Once the innocents, and potential innocents, are out of harm’s way, the IDF and Hamas can have at it without risk of violating the Geneva convention.
Countries that want to help can petition Israel to accept their offers of assistance with fencing, guarding, and movement of, and care for, Gazans. Highest quality security needs to be established. Rubble needs to be cleared, roads need to be built, and public transportation provided. Temporary houses, schools, hospitals, grocery, drug, and clothing stores, mosques, news media, etc. need to be built and staffed. Plans for the permanent City of Gaza need to be approved and implemented by peaceful Gazans. To the extent possible, the enormously cost-effective Marshall Plan for Europe after WWII should be replicated. This Plan worked well in large part because Europeans were hired to rebuild Europe. The same strategy should work in Gaza.
Gazan kids have grown up on anti-Israel propaganda. This has left a legacy of negative bias toward Israel that must be undone by unbiased education. Over time, such education will free Gazans to think for themselves. When this happens, the threat of terrorism will diminish, and the ban on communication technology can be relaxed.
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDS) for the purpose of making justice and peace and preserving human habitat: End poverty, end hunger, promote health, promote effective education, establish gender equality, ensure safe water and adequate sanitation, produce clean and affordable energy, create decent work and economic growth, stimulate industry, innovation, and infrastructure, ensure equity, inclusion, and diversity, ensure sustainability, promote responsible consumption and production, enact effective climate protection, protect the aquatic biosphere, protect the terrestrial biosphere, pursue justice and peace as overarching goals, and forge a global partnership for fair economic development. All goals are to be achieved by 2030. As of now, no country has achieved all the goals, but Finland, Sweden, and Denmark lead the world. When the goals were approved, countries agreed to prioritize progress in those countries farthest from the goals. But no place is farther from the SDS than Gaza. It is appropriate, therefore, to call upon all countries for help in constructing the City of Gaza. Because of its small size (a fourth as big as Los Angeles), it would not be expensive to make Gaza the first place to achieve all SDS. This would be the best assurance of justice and peace, and this assurance the most reasonable victory.
