It is not often that an entire city reaches such a level of decay that it deserves to be entirely razed to the ground, removed from existence. Sodom and Gomorrah are the pivotal examples in history that were destroyed by hellfire.
Whether that meant a natural disaster, an attack by an extraterrestrial force, or some sort of Earth-based warfare is up to your interpretation of historical accounts in the texts. Those cities hypothesized to have existed on the southern coast of the Dead Sea or thereabouts no longer exist.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits,” goes the biblical maxim. And what are the fruits of Gaza? Terrorism, plain and simple. A manifestation of pure evil. Last weekend, religious zealots spilled over the 1950 Armistice Agreement Line and went on an orgy of death. What followed has been widely discussed as to what actually happened. The details are unspeakably despicable and revolting to a good, upstanding citizen. The fact that so many are willing to engage in conversation about whether or not children were beheaded is a clear exhibit of the shocking moral decay of the entire English-speaking world.
The kneejerk response of some political figures and even student groups was to celebrate Hamas and affirm the Palestinian people’s right to resist their occupation. How stupid are these people? In cities across Europe and North America, Muslims held public rallies to support Hamas. The blowback has only begun. There is a simmering rage that is patiently waiting to unleash righteous justice.
Yes, Palestine has been oppressed, and at some points in the years since the establishment of the state of Israel, the citizens of Gaza have been treated like caged animals, confined to a narrow strip of land. But that was in May of 1948, now nearly 75 years ago. In all of that time, the Palestinian people have succeeded in two very distinct outcomes that define their present reality: (1) They have served as a breeding ground and civilian shield for Islamic fundamentalists’ war against Israel, and (2) They have utterly failed to build a functioning government or establish legitimacy as an actual state in the international community.
How long does it take a people to successfully build a government to represent themselves? I ask with astonishment. There are many governments that have successfully been formed and joined the international community since 1948, the date of Israel’s creation. That list includes every modern country in Africa (except Ethiopia, Morocco, Liberia, and South Africa), many Caribbean island nation-states, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Fiji. South Sudan, for example, became a successful independent state with a functioning government as recently as 2011. So, why do Israel and Palestine continue with their ridiculous two-state solution featuring a splintered Palestinian state across two geographically distinct territories— Gaza and the West Bank?
I offer you a perspective on the situation. Take the position that Israel-Palestine is one state. The main power centers are Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Gaza has been denied or failed to create a functioning government— see the causes for that as you like. The reality is that the government of Israel has total power and control over Gaza and the West Bank. Those territories and the people in them exist at the mercy of the Israeli government. That also means that Israel can de facto control when and how it engages with Gaza.
In the past decade or so, the IDF’s incursions into Gaza have been limited in scale, temporary in duration, and intended to be incisive so as to root out anti-Israeli militants. They were justified by the reality that militias, many Iran-backed, were constantly and regularly firing rockets into Israeli territory, typically haphazardly at civilians. Gaza was little more than a base for violent anti-Israeli jihadist militias. What country in its right mind would allow such a constant threat to exist directly on its border?
If you consider Israel-Palestine to be a single entity, then the socioeconomic structuring of the population is fractured and essentially two-class. Israelis are in a superior position, with Palestinians severely disadvantaged with those in Gaza the most disadvantaged. The real result of this situation has become that Gaza is a power lever for Israel that enables its incredible influence over world events. The globalization of the Islamic community and the spread of sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people has made this situation such that there are groups of Palestinians, Palestinian sympathizers, and outright Islamic jihadists in cities across Europe and North America and in other urban centers in the Mideast and Asia as well.
When Israel acts with any force against Gaza in retaliation for the monthly barrages of rockets, there is protest and outcry. The Palestinians have won the hearts and minds of many on the political left worldwide. The situation in Gaza is a lever of power that can turn on globalized rage and outcry against injustice, colonialism, and state brutality. This is in the terms of the political left. Gaza is a time bomb.
To prevent further escalations of conflict and to defuse the situation entirely, there is one absolute way. That is to totally destroy Gaza and relocate any civilians there who are actually peaceful civilians. They can move to Egypt, Saudi, Jordan, Lebanon, or even the West Bank. Anywhere. But this is one solution that is painfully clear: Gaza does not deserve to exist.
Gaza has not negotiated for itself a functioning government or territorial integrity. It is barely able to maintain its own sovereignty, if it has any, it is a stretch to acknowledge. And it insists on continuing as a shield for jihadists whose main goal in life is to kill Israelis.
This is a proposed solution that is harsh, but life is harsh. Reality is harsh. Gaza is a tumor on global civil society. When it is pressed, it creates pain and anguish all over the world. It is a decaying city with outdated infrastructure and little chance to ever stand on its own as a prospering state.
The current global environment is perfect for refugees. They can walk across the US-Mexico border and get a free iPhone, paid luxury hotel for several months, and free US citizenship. They can do the same in many European countries and many Arabic countries, too.
Palestine can be the West Bank, and that would be a massive step forward for peace in the Mideast.
Just get rid of Gaza.
