Guest column about Gaza

I published this column in our local paper today. Imagine a teenager growing up in Gaza. This teenager wants a better life not just in material things but in things that are less tangible; a government that represents the shared values, culture, and heritage of the Palestinians, one that can understand their aspirations. That teenager may look around at Gaza and think how poorly Hamas has served the Palestinians. This teenager then looks to the West Bank, no Hamas to fire rockets at Israel. No Hamas to periodically attack Israeli soldiers. No Hamas that attacks border crossings which Israel then closes for months on end only to finally open them for only a few hours a day. But you know what else that teenager doesn’t see when he looks at the West Bank? He doesn’t see a significantly better life for Palestinians. In the absence of terror attacks the Palestinians on the West Bank have very few benefits to show for what many of them might consider a sell out to Israel. And the sad part is, if we wanted a peace process, this latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas comes at the exact time Hamas was as powerless as it’s probably been in years. They couldn’t pay their bills, they were forced to accept a unification government with Fatah that gave Fatah almost everything and Hamas next to nothing. Whatever Hamas has been doing since they took total control of Gaza in a mini civil war in 2006 they didn’t build schools, didn’t build hospitals, didn’t build any of the infrastructure for a functioning society. And the worst part of what that teenager might think, is that in reality, what Hamas is doing now might just have the largest impact on change, if not a peace process, at the very least an accommodation that does in fact improve the lives of the people in Gaza. As a result of any future cease fire Hamas may force Israel to loosen border restrictions, especially on building materials. And even if Hamas isn’t providing a better life for Gazans it’s at least letting them feel as if they are not rolling over for the Israelis. It’s hard to shake the thought that when Hamas kidnapped and killed the three Israeli teenagers they were anticipating exactly the Israeli overreaction they got. And with that overreaction the unification government is dead, Abbas and Fatah are marginalized. Future International negotiations may very well be with Hamas in Gaza not Fatah in Ramallah. It’s also hard to shake the thought that Israel’s Netanyahu’s overreaction was exactly what the Likud and Israeli settlers wanted; reinforce the idea that Israel is under siege and cannot possibly make concessions or any possible arrangement with the Palestinians. Here’s his evidence Israel doesn’t have a partner for peace. The elements in Israeli and Palestinian society that don’t want a two state solution are both getting exactly what they wanted from this latest round of fighting.