Nero fiddled while Rome burned and the Netanyahu government wastes time talking about non-starter hostage deals while low level Hamas terrorists quietly reassert control in Gaza. There may be something going on that hasn’t been made public, but Israel has not yet provided an alternative to Hamas for Gazans. There is no one to handle organizing a replacement for Hamas/UNRWA in distributing aid (and we’ve seen how Hamas simply takes over the aid trucks once they have left Egypt. The US, with media support, still pushes for more humanitarian aid. There are people in tents who need it. But other Gazans (thanks to Hamas) still enjoy a higher standard of living than most Egyptians. The latest video I saw shows shirtless Gazan men being paraded with their hands tied behind their backs. The guards are Hamas terrorists, not Israelis. I am not aware of any attempt by the Israeli government to put in place a temporary occupation government. Lacking that, Hamas operatives are filling the vacuum.
The question of what will be on the day after the war ends is very important. I’ve mentioned some considerations before; especially the need for reeducating the Palestinians after years of learning hate and antisemitism. If the Israeli government cannot find a replacement for Hamas, even a temporary one, then Israel might have to step in. For most Gazans, given a choice between an Israeli “occupier” and Hamas, Hamas wins. Eliminating UNRWA could be easier. The UNHCR can take over the job of handling refugees. That also gives the Palestinians an option to be resettled elsewhere (if UNHCR can find some other country willing to take them in). Replacing UNRWA schools and hospitals might be more difficult. Hamas has always been adept at finding someone else to foot the bill. A Hamas replacement government might not be as adept at raising funds. The Saudis have indicated they would be willing to help, but only if there is a solution to the problem of creating an independent Palestine. Israel wants an independent Palestine to be demilitarized (UN secretary General Guterres thinks that’s possible) and Israel is also unwilling to accept the Palestinian stand that calls for all refugees to be repatriated to the place they, or their ancestors, left 75 years ago. Is that a difficulty that can be solved by throwing money at it? The bottom line is still that the political solution has to be separated from the uncompromising religious claims. That won’t be easy to do without creating some kind of Palestinian political entity willing to abandon the positions that many Palestinians have held on to for nearly a century. The Arab minority inside Israel has managed to do that, so possibly the Palestinians outside Israel can do so too.
Wetherhorn 