Palestinians created two separate states on their own
צילום: איי אף פי
Window of opportunity
Gaza upheaval could enable Israel to reach agreement with moderate Fatah
During the period of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the question of connecting the Palestinian Authority's two parts, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, was the most complex issue.
I remember hours of discussions where miles of virtual roads, train tracks, bridges and tunnels were paved and constructed in a bid to resolve the problem – but there was no solution.
None of the negotiators – Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans – came up with the simplest idea, to establish two separate entities. The Palestinians now came along and did their thing, and by doing so resolved at least this problem.
In the immediate term, Israel has been presented with the opportunity to initiate a rapid diplomatic move following a period of long freeze since the Palestinian Authority elections. Israel needs to maintain different policies vis-à-vis the two entities it faces and act based on the realization that the new reality is limited in time.
At the end of this period the Palestinians will find – through intensive Arab mediation, particularly on Egypt's part – channels for new dialogue. Until then, if Israel is able to create a new horizon, there is a chance we will be rewarded by this reality.
At this time, the Fatah organization and its moderate leaders control the most problematic area with the greatest potential to constitute a strategic threat on Israel – the West Bank. As opposed to Gaza, the West Bank has the longest border with Israel and is replete with hundreds of settlements and Israeli outposts.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis travel across the Green Line and within the West Bank every day. In this state of affairs, there is no possibility for a unilateral solution such as the disengagement. At this time, a window of opportunity has been created for an agreement with Fatah.
Avoid humanitarian sanctions
As long as the memory of the massacre undertaken by Hamas against Fatah members in Gaza will be fresh in the minds of Fatah's West Ban leaders, we can hope that they would finally realize that the snake, in the form of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, constitutes a threat to them no less than it does to Israel. As a result, we should hope, they will operate against West Bank terror cells.
In order to realize this opportunity Israel must immediately hand over withheld PA funds to the Salam Fayyad's government, embark on negotiations on the release of Fatah prisoners only, and present a plan, conditioned on the security situation, to remove West Bank checkpoints.
Meanwhile, Israel should address the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip in a tough manner, but completely refrain from being dragged to humanitarian sanctions, which have always served as a boomerang against us.
There are a million and a half people residing in the Gaza Strip, with only thousands of them being our enemies. Israel needs to ensure open channels food and medicine supply for residents through international organizations. We must continue, under all circumstances, to provide electricity and water, particularly now during summer.
Humanitarian aid that cannot be offered without Israel's consent must be leveraged day and night on the public relations front vis-à-vis the Palestinian target audience in the Strip and the West Bank.
At the same time, we must impose complete sanctions on anything that cannot be characterized as humanitarian, such as the export of goods or transfer of money. Israel must announce that it would be willing to discuss those issues only after we see calm prevail on our southern border and progress in the contacts to release abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
The war against terror did not cease and Israel should continue operating in the Strip in order to thwart terrorism and curb terror leaders' freedom of movement.
The time available to Israel in this sensitive reality is short, and our government would do well to formulate a policy and direct its ministries to act in accordance with it in order to get the most out of the window of opportunity created here today.
