OPINION:
Standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 4, President Trump did the predictable: be shockingly aspirational. His announcement that the U.S. would seek ownership of the war-torn Gaza Strip was a thunderclap, further declaring that the Palestinians would have to settle elsewhere. Mr. Netanyahu must have thought he had just won the Powerball lottery.
Mr. Trump’s redevelopment plan for the 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza — a population hovering between that of Phoenix and Houston — is a stretch. Moreover, his presumption that other Arab states would offer up the territory was an unattractive proposition for them. Neither Jordan nor Egypt were enthralled with that idea. They, like other Arab countries, view the Palestinians as a troubled and obdurate population that doesn’t coexist well with anybody.
Even threats to withhold defense aid from Jordan and Egypt are unlikely to persuade them to permanently accommodate the Palestinians. At best, they might be persuaded to provide temporary housing and humanitarian aid until new accommodations can be arranged in Gaza. Yet, despite Arab hesitation, the president’s abilities in artful dealmaking to attain solutions may have real possibilities.
A better approach would be to administer Gaza as a demilitarized and civil Israeli neighbor. Such a solution should involve the U.S. and trusted Western allies, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in a coalition protectorate to promote economic recovery and rational self-governance for Gaza. That requires diplomacy, not sweeping rhetoric.
First, there must be a new framework for Gaza. The “two-state solution” is dead. Hamas drove a stake in the heart of that idea while butchering 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 250 others on Oct. 7, 2023. Yet Palestinians must have a place to permanently live. The challenge is settling them in a manner that doesn’t threaten Israeli security. That requires a demilitarized territory devoid of Hamas and populated with Palestinians willing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Moreover, Gaza residents must end anti-Zionist indoctrination in their schools and demonstrably renounce terrorism toward any nation.
Second, a balanced and effective coalition protectorate must preside over Gaza until Palestinian people show themselves worthy of peaceful coexistence with Israel. The coalition’s mission must be to rehabilitate the Gaza population, rebuild homes and businesses, and create an economy that fosters peace and prosperity. This will take many years.
Joining the Arab partners above, the U.S., Canada, France and Sweden — all of which have extensive experience in Middle East peacekeeping — would comprise an interim government. To initially pacify Gaza, all members of the coalition protectorate would contribute a peace enforcement military task force to ensure armed Palestinian elements will not be permitted among the population.
The coalition would supervise and implement the reformation effort, including monitoring funding, establishing a domestic police force, and forming a judiciary to bring about lawful societal order. However, no one with a known connection to Hamas should be permitted to return to Gaza. They lost that right with the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Third, Israel’s role in this arrangement must be that of an observer state. Arab states would unwelcome its membership in the formal coalition protectorate. Yet Israel does have a profound national interest in ensuring that the coalition does not stray toward policies and measures that would jeopardize Israeli security or renew radicalism in Gaza. In that regard, the presence of the U.S. as a prominent protectorate member should be a sufficient guarantee. Observer status for Israel will be necessary to reassure their concerns about this arrangement.
Fourth, the role of the protectorate should diminish over time as the Palestinian people demonstrate in word and deed their willingness to live peacefully beside their Israeli neighbors. This will require confidence-building measures that could include cultural and business exchanges between Israel and Gaza. Moreover, the process must not be artificially rushed but evolve based on outcomes and not arbitrary projected dates.
Finally, there must be a logical progression toward autonomy for Gaza once the Palestinians are ready for self-governance. That will not be months but rather years. There are generations of hatred that must be resolved. That means decades of demonstrated peace before Gaza residents will be trusted not to resume their conflict with Israel. Egypt and Jordan have shown that peace can be attained. Indeed, Mr. Trump’s Abraham Accords hold much promise for expanding peace in the Middle East. Further integrating the accords with the efforts of an international protectorate can foster peace and prosperity for Gaza. It may even persuade the recalcitrant Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to follow suit.
In all of this, Mr. Trump has the opportunity to elevate hopes for peace in the Middle East. To do it well, he must find the elusive intersection between the art of the deal and the art of the possible.
• L. Scott Lingamfelter is a retired Army colonel and combat veteran (1973-2001) and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates (2002-2018). He is the author of “Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War” (University Press of Kentucky, 2020) and “Yanks in Blue Berets: American U.N. Peacekeepers in the Middle East” (UPK, 2023).
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