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Source: https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-870698
Palestinian Deradicalization Is Essential for Peace
(Jerusalem Post) Dr. Dan Diker - The first principle of the U.S. plan for ending the Gaza war - "Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone" - reveals the central contradiction that has haunted every peace initiative since Oslo. The plan begins with deradicalization. Three decades of failed peacemaking should have taught us that ideology precedes everything else in the Middle East. Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza was heralded as a test case for Palestinian self-governance and territorial compromise. Instead, by 2007 Hamas violently seized control, transforming Gaza into a forward base for Iranian-backed terror operations. Oct. 7 did not occur due to the absence of a Palestinian state: It occurred precisely because there was a de facto Palestinian state in Gaza. The ideological structure underlying any Palestinian entity remains fundamentally based on jihad and the cancellation of Israel. That cancerous indoctrination is inherent in the Palestinian collective mindset and institutional framework. Creating a Palestinian state now will inflame radicalization, not diminish it. Hamas had an 18-year period to radicalize an entire generation in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority's "pay to slay" program - disbursing more than $300 million annually to terrorists and their families - continues to this day. The PLO Charter explicitly calls for preparing younger generations ideologically and practically for armed struggle. Changing ideology takes generations. Until Western policymakers understand this elemental truth about the Middle East, we will continue cycling through failed initiatives. The writer is president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.