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Gaza Remains a Wasteland as Reconstruction Requires Hamas Demilitarization
(Sunday Times-UK) Tom Ball - Half a year on from the ceasefire that formally ended fighting between Israel and Hamas, Gaza remains a wasteland. And so it will remain as long as U.S.-led peace talks continue to stall over the issue of demilitarizing the strip - a precondition for reconstruction. Israelis remain deeply skeptical that the threat from Hamas - a movement whose founding covenant commits it to the destruction of Israel - can be neutered by these talks Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, said: "Any government in Israel - and it doesn't matter if it's led by Netanyahu or one of his rivals - will not let Hamas survive in Gaza. Either it will be disarmed by the Americans or it will be disarmed by the IDF by force. After Oct. 7, Hamas does not have the legitimacy to exist as an organization. But what I know is that for us it is much less relevant than for the Palestinians in Gaza. These are the people who are suffering from Hamas more than anyone else in the present situation."