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Gaza Is a Failed Territory

(Substack) Danielle Pletka - Gaza is not contiguous with the West Bank. By the time Israel decided to withdraw both its military and its citizens in 2005 in the wake of one of the many "peace" agreements with the Palestinian Authority, Gaza was considered a lost cause. Egypt doesn't want Gaza. In truth, neither does the PA in Ramallah. Jordan certainly doesn't. Not a single Arab nation is game to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Small wonder, given the festering terror mire that Hamas and its UN allies have created there. Consider Trump's compassionate read on the people of Gaza. He doesn't call them terrorists, or baby killers, or jihadists, or Iranian puppets, all of which too many are, demonstrably. Instead, he bemoans what "this civilization of wonderful people has had to endure." Negotiations with Hamas have not worked. Efforts to subsume Gaza under the PA have not worked. Rebuilding has not worked. A "two-state solution" has not arrived, and will not work. There is little reason to believe that replaying the last five-plus decades will yield a different outcome. When you teach people hatred for decades, give them the tools of destruction, and radicalize them, they are beyond reach. Gaza is destined to be a terrorist beachhead. To believe that next time will be different - that they won't try to kill Jews, that they'll focus on a decent future for the people of Gaza - is nothing other than ideological laziness. What we do know is that Donald Trump in his first term forged the first meaningful peace between Jews and Arabs in decades. And he did it by ignoring the conventional wisdom, the experts, the think tanks, the diplomats and the peace processors. His proposal should shine a light on the bankruptcy of what has passed for a Gaza policy until now. The writer is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
2025-02-09 00:00:00
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