Blinken is considering a post-war plan for Gaza based on ideas developed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates | …the plan would marginalize Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his government, which is what Israel and the UAE are pushing…

4 comments

1. While the plan is going to have significant problems and there are going to be concerns about marginalizing Palestinian independence and statehood, this is still a step forward.

   If you legitimately think that the plan “Gaza and West Bank elect a new democratic government and form an independent Palestinian state free of Israeli occupation” has any realistic chance of being implemented after the war ends, you have some harsh reality incoming. That is certainly a worthy goal but is going to take a lot longer.

   The best way to determine what happens postwar is for both sides to come up with realistic and implementable ideas, then have some kind of negotiation as to which portions of each proposal to implement. Right now, the only two proposals I’m seeing is “Fighting stops and nothing changes” (proposal by Hamas) and “Israel stays in Gaza forever with settlements” (proposal by the extreme right of Israel). Moving the Israeli side proposal to be slightly less absurd is a positive move.

2. Folks, this is why learning history is important.

   The plan will fail ultimately with two decades and we will have Hamas 2.0 once more. People forget Hamas itself is a political party. in The independent prime minister function that’s the plan here. What’s to stop another radical playing on the hate this war caused?

   You’d need to do something beforehand to extend the olive branch to the Palestinian people. I’m still in favor of connecting Gaza and the West Bank With redrawn country lines. People forget Hamas came into power because they were oppressed and marginalized.

   If you’re not gonna do anything like at least allow them to build their own power grids and open their ports freely. Then what the fuck are we doing. We need a country to develop freely, and they shouldn’t be under another Govenrment thumb.

3. The Israelis oppose any elements of the plan that involve progress towards a two state solution, which is basically ruling out any possibility of success.

   Having the old guard of the Palestinian Authority step aside through elections isn’t a bad thing, but the what the Israelis seem to be pushing for is appointing someone independent of the Palestinian Authority and creating parallel governments- it’s then same sort of attempt to divide up Palestinians that motivated Israel to fund Hamas and support it, even as it carried out suicide bombings against Israel.

   If the Israelis don’t want an eternal occupation that corrodes their society as it turns generation after generation of Israelis into murderers, thieves, torturers and rapists; they’re going to have to get used to the idea that they can’t eternally rule over the Palestinians. The Palestinians have chosen peace and negotiations with Israel through the Palestinian Authority, but Israel undermines the PA at every turn. The Palestinians cannot find peace without a willing partner who also wants peace, especially when Israel is the one with all the power.

   This plan won’t work until there is an Israeli government that confronts its own extremists, who get stronger every year they are not confronted. Hamas is a product of Israeli policy, yet not a single Israeli has been put on trial for their roles in supporting Hamas over the years- there is no statute of limitations for murder or terrorism in Israel, it is time to drag out every Israel soldier, spy, and official who helped that terrorist organization.

4. Keep this in mind when reading the article:

   The Palestinian Authority is hopelessly corrupt and being paid off by Israel or by Pro-Israeli parties. This is a known fact on the West Bank that I can confirm from relatives that got to some high positions. They were simple people from humble backgrounds that resigned shortly after seeing what was going on.

   If you even mention the idea of political change, they come after you. They cooperate extensively with Israel. If you stir up trouble (Hamas activity or political aspirations), the IDF is ***happy*** to assist the Palestinian Authority. This is really only scratching the surface. People in Gaza point to the increasingly shrinking West Bank and go “Look, that’s what happens when you cooperate, they just continue expanding anyway.”

   Divide and conquer: Pay off the Palestinian Authority, radicalize Hamas and look the other way when Qatari money flows in to Gaza. A genius, clearly successful strategy. The Israelis are many things, but dumb is not one of them.