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| Displaced Palestinians fleeing to Lebanon during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War |
Israel and the Palestinians are at a critical juncture. Gaza can either be rebuilt with funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and HAMAS replaced with a joint Palestinian National Authority and Arab states, e.g., Egypt and Jordan, . Or the territory can be seized by the Israeli far-right and the Gazan Palestinians be expelled for the second time in their lives (the first in 1948 when Palestinians along Israel's Mediterranean Coast were forced into the Gaza Strip, then controlled by Egypt).Causes of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight
Unfortunately, HAMAS is still in control in the Gaza Strip which presents a major impediment to moving towards peace. The Arab League should establish an interim administration comprised of Jordan and Egypt. The Jordanians and Egyptians should make clear to HAMAS that it needs to shed its weapons and then become one of several political parties in Gaza which will win or lose in fair and free elections. If HAMAS refuses, the Arab League should sponsor a military force dispatched to Gaza to remove its weapons and disarm it.
A new "Trail of Tears? The alternative to the scenario just described is the Israeli far-right's plan to either force or have Gazans "voluntarily" evacuate the Gaza Strip. The far right settlers would take control of it. This would constitute a latter day "Trail of Tears," as was implemented during the Andrew Jackson administration in 1830. Native American tribes were removed from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi River and forced to move westward to government controlled reservations in regions, such as present-day Oklahoma, which were not yet states.
The brutal HAMAS attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 upended Middle East politics. Over 1200 Israelis were killed during the attack, and a wrenching hostage crisis ensued with 250 Israelis were seized by HAMAS and taken to Gaza (many of whom died while in captivity). Israeli survivors recount terror at music festival, where Hamas militants killed at least 260
At least 47,000 Palestinians living in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed, although recent excavation of bodies from destroyed buildings will make that figure much higher. Over 80% of the Gaza Strip's buildings and infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel's bombing campaign.
What has the violence over the past 75 years accomplished? Perhaps we should answer this question by invoking the colloquial definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." When will more rational heads prevail to end the never ending cycle of violence?
The Gaza War's cost to Israel and the Palestinians Israel has secured its position as nation-state in the Middle East, but at great the cost. While it won all the Arab-Israeli wars, save for the 1956 tripartite invasion of Egypt, it has done less well in conflict with asymmetric forces.
After invading Lebanon in 1982 to destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization bases in South Lebanon and its leadership in Beirut, Israel was forced to withdraw from the south in 2000 following repeated guerrilla attacks on its forces. The 2006 war with Hizballah ended in a draw. And HAMAS still controls the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire.
With the January 2025 Ceasefire in place, Israeli politics has entered a new phase. The far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben Gvir, resigned in protest. Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance, also on the far-right, has threatened to resign as well if the ceasefire becomes permanent. It is unclear whether the Netanyahu government will continue its efforts priro to the HAMAS attack to strip Israel's Supreme Court of its power to declare laws passed by the Knesset (parliament) as unconstitutional.
Tensions have increased between religious and secular Israels as a result of the Gaza War. The 2024 court order that Haredim (orthodox males who dedicate their lives to religious studies) must join the military provoked outrage among many orthodox rabbis and their followers. The Haredim, who receive state subsidies to conduct their religious studies, are not required to pay taxes and, until now, have been exempt from serving in the armed forces. Given their large families, they will constitute a majority of Israel's population by 2050.
Apart from the technology sector, Israel's economy has suffered a s result of the war. A large percentage of the employed males, who are overwhelmingly secular and taxpayers, were called up to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Economic growth has slowed and the government has faced severe budget constraints to fund the war and the Israelis displaced by the conflict with Hizballah in southern Lebanon along Israel's northern border.How Benjamin Netanyahu and the Extremist Far Right are Leading Israel Along a Path to Ruin
Perhaps most significant, and difficult to quantify, is Israel's loss of international support as a result of the ferocious bombing campaigning in Gaza. Those who have suffered most are not the HAMAS terrorists but innocent civilians. The international loss of legitimacy, especially in light of the Netanyahu government's failure to reign in West Bank settlers on the West Bank whose terrorist attacks have wounded and killed innocent Palestinians (more than 600 deaths as of this writing) and destroyed their property and crops. The war is in Gaza, but Palestinians in the West Bank are targeted with violence too
Israel will find it difficult, if not impossible, to reestablish its international legitimacy in the short term. That Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minster, Yoav Gallant, have been indicted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, further undermines Israel's credibility in prosecuting the war against HAMAS in the Gaza Strip.
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| This image captures Gaza's destruction during the Israel-HAMAS war |
The current status of Palestinians is dire. With over 80% of the Gaza Strip completely destroyed, most of the two and a half million residents lack homes, jobs, food, healthcare and security. In addition to the 47,000 plus Gazans who have been killed, many residents have lost limbs and youth have no access to education because all schools and universities have been destroyed. These maps and images show what's left of Gaza, 1 year into the Israel-Hamas war
In the West Bank , Palestinians have been subject to increasing violence from settler terrorists who destroy their houses (which subsequently aren't legally allowed to be rebuilt) and crops and even murder them. Over 600 West Bank Palestinians have lost their lives since the HAMAS October 2023 attack on Israel. Mapping 1,800 Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank since October 2023
The Palestine National Authority (PNA) is headed by an 89 year old autocrat, Mahmoud Abbas, who hasn't allowed elections to be held in the PNA's areas of control in the West Bank since 2013. President Abbas is extremely corrupt, diverting millions of dollars in funds designated for the Palestinian people to his sons, Yasser and Tariq. His current approval rating hovers at 13%.
The Gaza War presents the opportunity to remove Abbas from his illegally held office and create a new PNA leadership. One name which has been proposed is Dr. Salam Fayyad, who served as Prime Minister from 2007 until 2013, but who was removed from office by Abbas because he wouldn't support the PNA president's corrupt behavior. Fayyad, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin, is highly respected among West Bank Palestinians and internationally.Salam Fayyad
The need to move quickly to rebuild Gaza Recently, President Donald Trump proposed that Gaza's Palestinian residents be relocated to Jordan and Egypt. His rationale for this proposal is that Gaza has been largely destroyed and thus it's best to "clean out the territory." Unsurprisingly, this proposal has been universally rejected by all Arab countries. However, with the Gaza Strip in ruin, the idea of removing its residents does possess some logic, however perverse. Trump says to ‘clean out’ Gaza, urges Arab countries to take more refugees
Thus, time is of the essence. The longer the Gazan Palestinians remain without water, electricity and housing, the louder the chorus of those who want to remove them from their homes and land will become.
Here is where the "rubber meets the road." If the Arab states, who have manipulated the Palestinian cause for decades to serve their own national interests, truly want to promote peace and a meaningful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, they must put their money where their mouth is - walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Saudi leader Muhammad Bin Salman would do better using the $600 billion he has promised Donald Trump he will invest in the United States to rebuild Gaza instead. Qatar and the UAE should follow suit. Quick action by these wealthy Arab oil producers could have the critical impact of cutting off the Israeli far-right's attempt to seize yet more Palestinian land.Saudi Prince promises Donald Trump $600 billion trade, investment boost
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