[SS from essay by Jonathan Lincoln, Director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Senior Coordination Officer at the office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.]
For more than ten months, the war in the Gaza Strip has raged on with catastrophic consequences. Israel has considerably weakened Hamas’s military capabilities, but at the cost of a staggering death toll and massive destruction. Although Hamas may no longer be a serious threat to Israel, the group will likely survive in some form.
As Washington and governments in the region desperately search for an end to the fighting and an arrangement for the day after, many are turning to the idea of deploying an international peacekeeping mission to [Gaza](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/tags/gaza). They hope that an international mission might enforce a cease-fire, stabilize the devastated territory, and eventually rebuild it. And although the authorization and deployment of such a mission seems far-fetched now, there are indications that Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA)—which governs parts of the West Bank—and a growing number of Arab countries are becoming more amenable to the idea. In July, Lana Nusseibeh, an Emirati diplomat, announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be willing to contribute forces to a “temporary international mission” in Gaza, making it the first country to do so.
Israel won’t allow that.
Great article. The most important part was at the end, when the author stressed the need for Israeli, Palestinian, and American leaders not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.
3 comments
[SS from essay by Jonathan Lincoln, Director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Senior Coordination Officer at the office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.]
For more than ten months, the war in the Gaza Strip has raged on with catastrophic consequences. Israel has considerably weakened Hamas’s military capabilities, but at the cost of a staggering death toll and massive destruction. Although Hamas may no longer be a serious threat to Israel, the group will likely survive in some form.
As Washington and governments in the region desperately search for an end to the fighting and an arrangement for the day after, many are turning to the idea of deploying an international peacekeeping mission to [Gaza](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/tags/gaza). They hope that an international mission might enforce a cease-fire, stabilize the devastated territory, and eventually rebuild it. And although the authorization and deployment of such a mission seems far-fetched now, there are indications that Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA)—which governs parts of the West Bank—and a growing number of Arab countries are becoming more amenable to the idea. In July, Lana Nusseibeh, an Emirati diplomat, announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be willing to contribute forces to a “temporary international mission” in Gaza, making it the first country to do so.
Israel won’t allow that.
Great article. The most important part was at the end, when the author stressed the need for Israeli, Palestinian, and American leaders not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.