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Comment and Opinion

Haaretz: Abbas opposes plan to rebuild Gaza, but he has only himself to blame, by Jack Khoury

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What should be done with the Gaza Strip? The question comes up every time tension in the south rises.

Leading pundits ask the question of retired generals in the hope of getting an answer that promises salvation, rather like ancient Greeks longing for an answer from the gods on Olympus. But all the answers revolve around the same old colonialist approach that has characterized Israel’s security policy for generations.

Not human rights, freedom and self-determination, but control via carrots and sticks: defeating Hamas, but leaving it in power. Controlling the sea and the air and the border crossings, but giving people a glimmer of hope through minor relaxations of the siege and the introduction of infrastructure projects that will provide jobs. The main thing is for Gaza to remain a territory surrounded by fences, deterred and barely breathing, but alive.

This model wasn’t developed in the past few months or years. It also operates in the West Bank, despite efforts to conceal it. And for now, the model is working well, despite the geographic and demographic differences between the territories.

Read the full story at Haaretz.