# 448 – An Elderly English Friend

An Elderly English Friend

Today, my Letter focuses on my response to this friend. First, the focus of his email…

Dear Stephen,

….if Hamas  will not agree to peace and threaten to continue to attack Israel in a horrendous way, your option will be to create a ring of steel on the Palestinian border and move the settlers inland for their protection.

My feeling is that if Israel continues to flatten Gaza and kill the non-combatant population, the outcome may be quite dreadful for Israel.

Please let me know whether you agree with my supposition…

With every good wish

And now my response –

Your question is absolutely fair.

Israel is smaller than Honduras. Actually, almost identical size of Wales. Please bear that first in mind. (It used to be popular here to find out how big people think this country is, with up to 100 million inhabitants. I mean, they see our tourists everywhere….).

LIke him or not, Bibi is a clever strategist. Whatever happens to him​ after this is all over, ​right now he’s in charge. No matter how unpopular he is among the people and within his own government – even within his own party – we are currently unified. That’s the habit of the Jewish people: when danger appears, we unite. Being a vibrant democracy, we still have and tolerate opposition within and without the Knesset.

We still have Arab parties, some of which have always fought the government tooth and nail. Yet when 1 female Arab MP, the first ever to wear a hijab in the Knesset, said something pro-Hamas, her own party threatened her with expulsion.

What is Israel’s definition of ‘destroy Hamas’? Big question.

When this war ends, it is safe to say that the Hamas leaders will all be ‘disabled’. (Dead, in prison, or in Iran – never to return to Gaza).

It is also safe to say that Gaza will not be ‘livable’ for….some years. There has to be major​ reconstruction. Who will pay for that? Not Israel. Minimally the UN. Some support from EU (Germany will feature strongly – in my opinion, they have evolved into a fantastic ally of peace). Most Arab League states? No way. Iran? That’s a sick joke. Only the rich, progressive ‘Nouveaux Riches’ Arab states, who

1. a) have the money

2. b) will sign the expanded Abraham Accords

3. c) further sideline Iran and its proxies, and finally move forward with the multiple and complex deals involving the US, peaceful nuclear power, major economical ties from the East to Europe via Saudi, Jordan – and Israel, and finally

4. d) go ahead with the ultra-important strategic partnership with Israel, a country which has so much to offer its neighbours.

But…and now to your point…if the above does not happen, if Gaza is left to rebuild on its own then Hamas II and III will arise, as bad, if not worse than before. (Iran will make sure of that). It’ll start of course with the many young Hamas who have not been ‘eliminated’. Potentially, Gaza will still have a lopsidedly young population.

In fact, I’m not sure Israel will ALLOW any other solution. Creating a no-man’s land around Gaza is unworkable, from every point of view. (We, here in Tel Aviv, are in the centre of Israel. Gaza’s northern border is only 40 miles from here).

There was a hint of ‘relocate’ Gaza further south into Egypt, but Egypt is 100% against that – they’ve hardly opened Rafah crossing…When they occupied Gaza (1948-67), it was not only NOT given to their Palestinian brothers, it became greater Egypt. No love lost between the two.

How about relocation of Gazans with their Palestinian brothers in the West Bank, with a compensating expansion of land? The Palestinians around the World, the ones taking over society in so many countries, would never agree to that ‘come-down’. And they would lose that lovely strip of Med. Sea, which they have forlorn since day 1.

​F​riend, if/when you go through a list of what has befallen Israel since Day 1, nearly 100% of which has occurred because of outside ‘pressures’, you have to wonder how they managed to build this still-fantastic country. In 1948, the Palestinians had the choice, the opportunity, to do the same, hand in hand with their Israeli neighbours (containing all religions, all colours, all levels of society). They chose differently.

Hugs,

  Me

PS – You use the words ‘non combatant population’. Not ‘innocent civilians’. I’m thinking about that.

And….I’d like your opinion on the 240 hostages still held. We know NOTHING about them. Dead, alive, etc. We swapped 1,067 for the ‘live’ Gilad Schalit, after 5 years being held in Gaza. What do you suggest?

​Stephen