Israel-Palestine, endless conflict? FileIn a column published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, December 25, the Israeli prime minister explains that, in his eyes, peace can only come when Hamas is “destroyed,” Gaza is “demilitarized” and Palestinian society is “de-radicalized.” .
Peace on three conditions. After announcing an intensification of the fight against Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated that the end of the war would only come if Gaza was “demilitarized” and “deradicalized.” In his Wall Street Journal columns on Monday, December 25, he also laid out three “prerequisites” for peace. “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized and Palestinian society must be deradicalized,” he said in the introduction to his column.
However, there is no talk of the hostages being released. On the same day this column was published, several families of Israelis held captive by the Islamist movement insulted Netanyahu during a speech in parliament. “Now, now!” they shouted as the prime minister declared that Israel Defense Forces needed “more time” to secure releases.
In his text, the Israeli head of government therefore calls for the proper destruction of Hamas. “Hamas leaders have vowed to repeat the October 7 massacre “again and again.” Therefore, their destruction is the only appropriate response to prevent the recurrence of such terrible atrocities,” Netanyahu writes, recalling that “the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and many other countries support Israel's intention to kill the terrorists destroy.” terrorist group. To achieve this, the Jewish state's prime minister says he wants to “dismantle the group's military capabilities” and ensure that it no longer has political influence in Gaza. As a reminder, Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. No elections have taken place since then. Those planned for 2021 were canceled a few weeks before the election.
Demilitarization of Gaza
For Netanyahu, peace in Gaza also requires the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. “Israel must ensure that the territory is never used as an attack base again,” supports the Likud president. To achieve this, “it will be necessary, in particular, to establish a temporary security zone on the edge of the Gaza Strip,” he believes. Israel does not intend to take into account that the Palestinian Authority, which it accuses of “[financer] And [glorifier] Terrorism in Judea and Samaria and[éduquer] Palestinian children to destroy Israel. “The hope that the Palestinian Authority will demilitarize Gaza is a pipe dream,” he complains.
Ultimately, Gaza must be “deradicalized,” he says. “Schools must teach children to value life over death and imams must stop preaching the murder of Jews. Palestinian civil society must be transformed so that its members support the fight against terrorism rather than financing it,” Netanyahu said. Here too, the head of government is targeting the Palestinian Authority, which he considers incapable of condemning the “atrocities” of October 7th. “Several of his ministers deny that the murders and rapes took place or accuse Israel of committing these terrible crimes against its own people,” he continues. Getting there requires “courageous and moral leadership,” he says.
“In the near future, Israel will have to retain primary responsibility for security in Gaza,” from which it unilaterally withdrew in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, he also reiterated. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Netanyahu also agreed to encourage the voluntary emigration of Palestinians from Gaza. “Our problem is not whether we should approve an exit, but whether there will be countries willing to accept an exit,” he told elected representatives of his Likud party, according to Haaretz. In the eyes of Hamas it is an “absurd project”.