(Israel Affairs) Efraim Karsh - So long as the West Bank and Gaza continue to be governed by the PLO's and Hamas's law of the jungle, there can be no true or lasting reconciliation with Israel, and no Palestinian civil society, let alone a viable state, can develop. The West Bank and Gaza must undergo a profound process of de-radicalization that will sweep the PLO/PA and Hamas from power, eradicate the endemic violence from the Palestinians' political and social life, and teach the virtues of coexistence with their Israeli neighbors. The first step in this long and tortuous road is the completion of the ongoing Israeli effort to destroy Hamas's military and civilian stranglehold on Gaza. This may not suffice to jumpstart such a monumental change. But absent this, the region is certain to plunge into ever lower depths. The writer is emeritus professor of Middle East and Mediterranean studies at King's College London and former director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
2024-11-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive