Is it Time to Let Go of Gaza?

by Daniel E. Levenson, ALM

June 1, 2010

When President Obama announced a renewed effort at making peace between Israel and the Palestinians earlier this Spring, I felt a mix of emotions - curiosity as to what this process might look like, fear that pushing both Israel and the Palestinians too far too fast might have a long-term detrimental impact on negotiations, and hope that after so many years of fighting both sides had finally reached a point where painful but necessary compromises could be made. As the proximity talks began and progressed, they seemed to be going well (from what one could see from the outside) and in the last week there were also noticeable improvements in US-Israeli relations at various levels, including between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. When I went to bed on Sunday night I had just finished writing a blog post for the Jewish Boston site about the threat that Hezbollah continues to pose to both Israel and Lebanon and the implications of this for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. When I got up on Monday morning I was shocked to read about the incident which took place in international waters off the coast of Israel between those trying to run the blockade of Gaza and the Israeli navy.

What I found shocking about the situation is that it seems to have spiraled out of control so quickly, with a reaction from the international community that was swift and unthinking. I wasn't surprised to turn on CNN or read the New York Times online and see protestors gathered outside of the Israeli embassy in Turkey or to read the hateful, uninformed comments that many people left in reply to various articles on this incident. There are always fringe elements and anti-Israel groups who are ready to protest at a moment's notice, and a nuanced understanding of events is not something they obviously feel a need to have before launching into violent rhetoric. What surprised me about the reaction of the international community is how quick other countries were to condemn Israel, before we know what really happened on the ship.

Clearly, there are conflicting accounts and an investigation needs to take place in order for the world to have a better idea of the time line and substance of events relating to this tragedy. I say this because very often initial news reports are incomplete, and when dealing with a topic which is already so highly charged, anyone looking at this incident (who wants to maintain even a modicum of objectivity) needs to exercise patience. So I am not surprised that the far left has cried foul and the right has cried fair - but I am surprised that Turkey, for example, has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and canceled joint military exercises with Israel.

The big question at the moment is how this incident will impact the peace process. If nothing else, it is bound to be a major distraction for all of the parties involved in the proximity talks, as the United States will have to expend some serious diplomatic capital in order to calm down various parties who have an interest in the region, ranging from the European Union to Hamas. Members of the Israeli diplomatic corps will also have their work cut out for them trying to repair damage done to bilateral relations between Israel and other nations. President Abbas, who is reported, according to the New York Times, to have called the incident "a massacre" will no doubt be scrambling to try and figure out how to react and what his next move should be.

It seems inevitable that this incident is going to delay the progress of the proximity talks, but the best possible outcome in the short-term would be for Israel to conduct a serious investigation into what happened, and to do so in a transparent way. If it turns out that Israel acted improperly then there should of course be consequences, but if it turns out that the naval personnel were in fact met by deadly force when they boarded these ships, then the world, and especially the leaders of Turkey, will owe Israel a major apology. If President Abbas keeps his appointment at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with President Obama, he may use it as an opportunity to press the American President to ratchet up the pressure once again on Israel. At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu has postponed his planned visit to deal with this crisis at home. The effect of this asymmetry in White House conversations could negatively impact Israel as the proximity talks continue, which would not be a good thing in my opinion.

More than anything else, this latest incident says to me that it is time for Gaza to be cut loose, in a sense, from both the West Bank and Israel. This is not a popular idea, and it is not one that I have previously embraced, but there is no question in my mind that Gaza is far more trouble than it is worth. If Gaza became an independent state then ultra-left apologists would have less ammunition when it comes to blaming Israel for the trouble that the Hamas leadership has caused. If a Hamas-controlled independent Gaza shot rockets into Israel, then Israel could respond as if attacked by another sovereign state. Let the Gazans develop their own harbors and ports, and deal with the consequences if they allow weapons to be imported which are then used against Israel, Egypt or the PA. Let them face the diplomatic and military anger of Egypt when they continue to violate their common border by tunneling underneath it. Furthermore, let them figure out ways to deal with infrastructure needs such as water, electricity, sewage and road maintenance. I realize this would be a messy solution and one which might cause more suffering in the short term, but given the intense and immediate fallout from this incident off the coast of Israel, perhaps it is time to let the rest of the world see Hamas for what is really is, a violent terrorist organization that cannot be trusted to distribute humanitarian aid or serve as an honest representative of the Palestinian people.