Israel continued fighting in Gaza this week with the intent to destroy Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel needs to control Gaza even after the initial campaign ends but is uncertain what the endgame will look like. Now is the best time to define what the endgame needs to look like.
The Israeli Defense Force is battling deep inside Gaza City, nearly two weeks after launching its ground invasion, which followed the murder of 1,400 Israelis on October 7 by Hamas fighters. Ground forces have pushed across the center of Gaza, cutting it in two, and continue operations in the northern half. Israel has lost 30 soldiers since the fighting began. In the month-long bombing campaign that began even before the ground invasion, roughly 10,300 Gazans have been killed. About 70% of the population has fled their homes and become refugees in the south. A trickle of humanitarian aid flows through the gate with Egypt. Israel predicts the battle will be lengthy—after the initial campaign ends there will still be “pockets of resistance.”
Preventing another organization like Hamas from arising requires not only eliminating the current organization, but also fostering an acceptable alternative to preclude a power vacuum from emerging. The most obvious solution is to restore the Palestinian Authority. In 2007, Hamas overthrew forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, but the PA remains the only legitimate body in the region that works on behalf of the Palestinians. However, a deeper connection with the West Bank is needed for it to sustain leadership in Gaza. Geography plays a huge role in shaping societies and one can expect the two regions to diverge politically and culturally until the geographic linkage is stronger. Ultimately, making a two-state solution work will require some form of land-swap, so the Palestinian State becomes contiguous. Such a swap could also address Israel’s major objection to the two-state solution, which is that it makes Israel indefensible.
Right now, the idea of a land-swap is unthinkable. No one would even consider it. But as the conflict remains unsettled for generation after generation, the situation will likely come to a point when people will ask: What will it take to finally end this war? At that point, a once far-fetched idea becomes a consideration.
Source:
Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy, “Fighting Hamas Deep in Gaza City, Israel Foresees Control of the Enclave’s Security after the War,” Associated Press, 7 November 2023; accessed from https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-7-2023 -6e1425d218de6a73f8a51e4c036cfd39
Ben Hubbard, Maria Abi-Habib, “Behind Hamas’s Bloody Gambit to Create a ‘Permanent State of War,” New York Times, 8 November 2023; accessed from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html
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