While Jerusalem has made clear its intention to end Hamas’s control of the Gaza Strip, it’s not at all evident what is supposed to replace Hamas—short of the unwelcome possibility of an Israeli reoccupation. Robert Silverman suggests the answer might be the introduction of a “multinational force and observers” (MFO), such as is deployed in the Sinai Peninsula to keep the peace between Egypt and Israel. I have to admit my skepticism that such a force could be up to the task of imposing order on the unruly territory and overseeing the creation of a new regime—except for the fact that every other option seems even worse. More importantly, Silverman has some thoughts about what not to do:
One lesson from past failures in Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere is to avoid the well-educated, English-speaking expatriates whom Americans feel will be welcomed by the locals. Everyone recalls Iraq’s Ahmed Chalabi or Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai, but more relevant here is the PLO return to Gaza in the mid-1990s. They replicated their Tunis seaside-villa lifestyle in the midst of Gaza. They set up armed guards on the corniche to prevent the average Gazan from entering the exclusive residential zone of their new rulers. When the Gazans got a chance, they voted the PLO thugs out of power (and instead got the genocidal maniacs of Hamas.)
Read more at Jerusalem Strategic Tribune
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