I Have a Dream: Netanyahu Has a Way Out
Benjamin Netanyahu’s long and highly successful political career appears to be over. After all, he presided over the worst military calamity in Israel’s history. To date, at least 1,200 Israelis have lost their lives and as many as 150 were taken hostage.
Once the war is over, Netanyahu will face a thorough inquiry on how the country’s intelligence services missed a massive build-up by Hamas, and why the Israel’s very powerful and deeply resourced military was completely unprepared to deal with the terrorist assault.
Netanyahu’s way out
Israelis are understandably angry and demand vengeance. Netanyahu will have to bomb the Gaza Strip for several days, keep up the blockade and leave its population without power and water.
However, my dream is that Netanyahu would then surprise the world and offer a broadly based peace. He should bargain with Hamas for the release of hostages, demand that everyone who participated in the attack on Israel be extradited for a fair international trial and get Hamas to commit to a free and fair election within a year.
On the part of Israel, Netanyahu would offer to end the blockade of Gaza, promise generous development aid, commit to a roadmap and a strict timetable for a two-state solution that would be designed and supervised by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Jordan among others. Other Arab nations would then effectively become guarantors of Israeli security.
The carrot and the stick
In addition to the carrot, Netanyahu would obviously need to carry a big stick. If his offer is not accepted, Israel would feel free to go in and flatten Gaza.
Naturally, Israel will build a secure fence and beef up its forces all along the border (which is something that will certainly be done in any case).
And, if in the future there is any smuggling of weapons or military training, the deal would be immediately suspended.
Hamas, flush with pride over its “victory,” may actually accept this offer and be serious about ending its armed struggle.
An enormous risk?
Of course, this plan means taking an enormous risk. But it is also the only hope to end the vicious cycle that has plagued the region for three-quarters of a century and avoid an even worse disaster down the road.
Netanyahu, a well-known hawk, is the only Israeli politician to be able to pull it off – the way Richard Nixon, with his impeccable anti-Communist credentials, was the only U.S. politician who could get away with going to Beijing and Moscow in the early 1970s.
And Netanyahu may even fight a general election on this peace platform, to gauge Israel’s readiness to live in peace.
Of course, this is only a dream — and it will never happen.
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