Israel vs. Gaza: empty sound bytes or a real change?
By Noam Shalev

Israeli politicians, led by deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon, have recently found an original solution to the missiles fired toward Israel from Gaza on an almost daily basis, for the past seven years. The solution is simple: Israel will cut out electricity and fuel supply to the Gaza Strip as a form of retaliation after every missile. In other words: the entire Gaza population will be punished for the actions of militant groups. Will these sanctions be constructive? They can not. Depriving civilians of gas and electricity can only result in more people dying in vain, and many other living in ever worse conditions than they are used to.

Many Israeli politicians, and the majority of the Israeli media, do not distinguish between the various elements comprising the Palestinian political (and military) establishment and the Palestinian society. Rather than reporting about a unit of the Islamic Jihad or Hamas launching missiles on the Israeli town of Sderot, the reports in Hebrew refer to “the Palestinians” firing missiles. In many ways, the intended generalization on the Israeli side echoes many years of deliberate generalization on the Palestinian side in particular and the Arab media in general. Those refer to the “Israeli occupation forces” or the “Zionist entity”, not bothering to distinguish between the relevant parts of this entity.

The collective punishment planned by some Israeli politicians will fail. It has to. But it may end in a positive result: Israel may, out of frustration and in fear of the possible tragic consequences of a major military operation in Gaza, actually end the abnormal relations with this hostile entity. More than two years after the completion of Israel’s final disengagement from the Gaza Strip, shipments of food, humanitarian aid, fuel and other supplies are still shipped from Israel; electricity, too, is still supplied by Israel. This situation invites politicians to offer ridiculous solutions, and at the same time keeps Israel “guilty” of causing terrible conditions in Gaza, permanently on the brink of a catastrophe.

Israel decided to disengage itself from Gaza. The majority of Israelis and certainly the majority of the Palestinian agree that this was a blessed decision. Should this separation become full and complete? Definitely. Hamas-controlled Gaza can not and should not rely on supplies from its enemy. But this should be done in an orderly fashion, while refraining from punishing the entire Gaza population. How can it be done? First of all, Israel should announce its intentions: those who are willing to help the Gaza population, should have an early notice. Prime Minister Olmert should let the world know that at a certain date, say three or six months from now, Israel will cut out permanently all electricity supply, as well as the passage of trucks from Israel into the Gaza Strip. The EU, countries around the world, the UN and other aid and relief agencies – they will all have plenty of time to get ready if they wish to help the Gaza population. The new reality should be based on two routes: the first and major one is by land through Egypt; The second one is through the sea, after Israel alleviates the sea blockade on Gaza. This blockade was intended to prevent delivery of weapons to Gaza. This problem is long gone. Due to the rushed and mistaken decision to abandon the international Israel–Egypt border south of Gaza Strip (“The Philadelphy Line”), The Gaza militants enjoy a free passage of weapons above and below ground, while the Egyptians are doing little, if anything, to prevent that. Re-opening the Gaza port, allowing Gaza fishermen to go into the Mediterranean Sea for fishing and enabling humanitarian aid and free commerce through the sea would not endanger Israel. It will undoubtedly help the dying Gaza economy and cut out its dependency upon the enemy.

If such a change occurs, Israel would benefit as well: it will no longer be held responsible for the living conditions inside Gaza, and the disengagement will be final and complete. And what about the daily missile attacks on Sderot and other areas in Israel? This is a military issue, and it should be solved by military means. But then there will be a difference between the civilian Gaza population and those communities that chose to harbor terrorism, allowing militants to hide among them and use their backyards to attack Israeli civilians. Any direction Israel chooses – it should never hold the entire Gaza population hostage. It will be wrong and redundant in the short run, and extremely damaging for both sides in the long run.