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Why Israel Must Now Lead an Interim Solution for Gaza

(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Oded Ailam - Today, in Gaza, there is no vacuum - there is only Hamas - and despair fills the streets. The imperative now is twofold: to dismantle Hamas's control from the outside and to erode it from within. This cannot be achieved with bombs alone, but with a competing idea. Any talk of installing the current Palestinian Authority is a dangerous fantasy. The PA, in its present form, is widely seen by Palestinians as corrupt and illegitimate. To expect it to govern a hostile Gaza is to invite certain failure. Likewise, the notion that external Arab forces could impose order now is naive. A generation steeped in a jihadist worldview would reject them as invaders. The path forward lies in empowering local actors. The powerful clans and families in Gaza are the only available bridge. This is an interim solution, to build the foundation for a durable, long-term resolution. It is about creating the conditions for a legitimate and functional local Gazan administration to emerge. Once this local governance is established and the threat of Hamas is neutralized, Israel can reduce its military presence. The final phase would see Israel handing over supervisory responsibilities to a coalition of moderate Arab states, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, who can help ensure long-term stability and oversee reconstruction. For this transitional phase to succeed, Israel must maintain absolute and unwavering freedom of security operations across Gaza. This is not a desire for occupation, but a necessary condition for success. Israeli security control is the temporary scaffolding necessary to protect this nascent structure until it can stand on its own. The writer, former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad, is a researcher at the Jerusalem Center.
2025-06-12 00:00:00
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