This has caused the area to be under blockade. While Israel has not sought to make Gazan civilians suffer, the end result of conflicts with Hamas, like the one in May, is that civilians do suffer.
After the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier this year which saw substantial destruction of homes and facilities in Gaza, the international community has sprung into action toward rehabilitation efforts.
The conundrum is how to make sure that funds for rebuilding Gaza aren’t diverted into the terrorist machinery of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which rule the area with an iron fist.
Israel is seeking to condition aid on Hamas releasing the bodies of two soldiers, St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, and the return of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, whom Hamas illegally holds in the Gaza Strip, depriving the men of their rights to return to Israel. At the same time, Israel has discussed support for the Strip that may come from Qatar and other sources, while Jerusalem has cracked down on Hamas cryptocurrency and other illicit funding.
This is where we have an impasse at the moment. The new government wants peace, and it has made it clear that it wants a mechanism that will keep Hamas in check while international support for places like Gaza is considered. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, for instance, has had important conversations with counterparts in the Gulf and Europe, while countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Turkey have reached out to Israel.
There is an opportunity here to reverse some of the tragedies affecting Gaza. That means allowing goods to go into Gaza, but not letting items meant to rebuild civilian areas to be siphoned off and diverted to Hamas rockets and tunnels.
Funding for Gaza won’t go to Hamas, US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood pledged recently. He said that finances would go to independent partners that are trusted or vetted.
“If you’ve ever seen the vetting procedures that we and our partners put in place, it’s like a 60-page memo that I got to sign off on every year. Let me tell you, folks, it is intensive,” he said. “Through all of that, we’re providing more than $360 million in assistance to the Palestinians. That includes $38m. in new assistance for humanitarian efforts in both Gaza and the West Bank. We’re working with Congress to ensure these resources are available as soon as possible.”
At the same time, Israel is seeking more donor countries beyond just relying on the Qatar funding that has flowed to Gaza over the last years. One innovative approach is to use a voucher system as a safeguard against money going to terrorism.
Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev discussed this plan on Tuesday. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett envisaged “a mechanism where what will go in, in essence, would be food vouchers, or vouchers for humanitarian aid, and not cash that can be taken and used for developing weaponry to be wielded against the State of Israel.”
With Israel’s technological know-how, it should be able to monitor and channel funds to the correct parties.
It’s clear that Gazans must be helped to rebuild homes and lives that, due to Hamas’s aggression against Israel, have been destroyed.
Israel should be playing a role in this. As a new government seeks to project a different tone and image, efforts to achieve those aims will help repair good relations with Egypt, the broader Arab world, but also the international community.
The tragedy of Gaza is not Israel’s fault, but is due to the way the enclave is held hostage by Hamas. Unfortunately, there is no near-term easy way to force Hamas to give up its control. Past attempts to do so have not worked, and the Palestinians lack unity.
There is every reason to believe the West Bank may face increased instability due to the Palestinian Authority crackdown on dissent and its aging leadership. It is in Israel’s interest to try to help create stability where it can. Now is the time to act with vision and innovation to help Gaza and to bypass Hamas.