To achieve peace in Gaza, Palestinian Arabs need a change of heart - opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at a joint session of Congress last month was applauded and panned by many for many reasons. 

Hillel Fuld poetically called it the “Mona Lisa of speeches,” while Nancy Pelosi claimed it “was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress.” Some criticized Netanyahu for going to Washington at all now, and some celebrated his becoming the only foreign dignitary to speak to Congress four times.

One of the more anticipated parts of his remarks was speaking of his vision for Gaza after the war. “The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision... is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said.

“Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel... A new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate Jews but rather to live in peace with us. Those twin words, demilitarization, and deradicalization... were applied to Germany and Japan after World War II, and that led to decades of peace, prosperity, and security,” the prime minister said.

“Following our victory, with the help of regional partners, the demilitarization and deradicalization of Gaza can also lead to a future of security, prosperity, and peace.”

For those following closely, what was missing was how to actualize the vision into a real solution for peace in Gaza, one that addresses the theological/ideological root of the problem, the radicalization that Netanyahu spoke of.

The actual solution is a complete restoration of Gaza – to be undertaken by Christians from around the world. It’s a radical idea, all the more so as one promoted by an Orthodox Israeli Jew.

How can Christians restore peace in the Gaza Strip?

THE ROOT of the problem in Gaza under Hamas, and embraced by most Gazans, is an extremist Islamic ideology that calls for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of the Jews. Christians can be honest brokers to restore Gaza with love and prevent a rebuilding of the culture of hate and terror.

Christians have a tradition of going to some of the most dangerous and inhospitable places in the world to show their love and uplift communities. Gaza is ripe, the need is great, and the time is now.

An “army” of Christians working to restore Gaza will bring hope to the Gazans through genuine concern for their well-being and will prevent the Gazans from continuing to imbue hate toward and physical threats against Israel.

Since the October 7 massacre led by Hamas, I have been troubled by the absurdity that many posits that a “two-state solution” is the only answer, a panacea: creating a Palestinian Arab state in a territory whose population actively supports Hamas, many of whom even deny that the Hamas massacre ever took place. Or, if they acknowledge that it did happen, many find justification for and celebrate it. They subscribe to a genocidal theology that Israel has no legitimacy and that Jews are foreign occupiers, and they worship the destruction of Israel and murder of all Jews.

It is definitely not a solution that will bring peace and not a gift with which to reward terrorism. It is more of a “two-state illusion.”

Today, fast-tracking a Palestinian state simply rewards Islamic terror with the message: Kill enough Jews and get a state. The lack of peace is not for lack of the creation of a Palestinian state. Rather, it is due to Islamic intolerance of the existence of the Jewish one.

Those who reflexively call for a “two-state solution” seem to be reading lines out of the movie Argo when CIA agent Tony Mendez states, “There are only bad options. It’s about finding the best one.” At the time, the US faced its own Islamic-rooted hostage crisis. The CIA official to whom he was reporting asks, “You don’t have a better bad idea than this?” to which he is told, “This is the best bad idea we have, sir, by far.”

THE CURRENT situation is not sustainable, but the answer is not to promote the “best bad idea,” making the situation worse, legitimizing another terrorist state on Israel’s borders whose citizens want its destruction, and which has failed for decades. Creating a new terror state because there’s no better idea is foolhardy – and dangerous. What needs to happen now, to actually achieve peace in and restore Gaza, is a truly good idea.

Despite promoting the two-state illusion, even those who promote it acknowledge why it’s not practical.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said as much. “We’re also going to have to defeat the ideology behind Hamas, and that is not something that can be accomplished on the battlefield… Ultimately, you have to beat that idea with a better idea.”

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby echoed this as well. “We don’t believe that military attacks alone are going to eradicate an ideology.”

Off-the-cuff remarks from Israeli leaders have also emphasized the need to change the ideology in Gaza along with a military defeat. IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari noted, “Hamas is an idea. Anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong. The political echelon needs to find an alternative — or it will remain.”

Representing the political echelon, close adviser to Netanyahu Tzachi Hanegbi said simply, “We can’t get rid of Hamas as an idea, there we need an alternative idea.”

FOR A real solution for peace in Gaza – the alternative idea – Palestinian Arabs need a change of heart.

Gaza does need to be restored, rebuilt from the underground – where hundreds of miles of tunnels created a maze of terrorist infrastructure – on up. The Palestinian Authority and “moderate” Arab states cannot be relied upon. They have been central to fueling the kleptocracy endangering Gazans through smuggling weapons that allowed Hamas to hijack and control the beleaguered coastal enclave to begin with.

The actual solution for peace in Gaza requires Christians who will restore everything, engineers, architects, and city planners, medical personnel, nutritionists, and educators, people with backgrounds that can rebuild and create prosperity. 

Christians will succeed because they love Gazans and want to see them prosper and reject the evil version of Islam represented by Hamas and Iran. They will oppose a return to hatred of and terrorism against Israel because it’s bad for the Gazans. But they’ll also do so because they love Israel and the Jewish people and want to see Israel live in safety, free of genocidal threats.

And when the Christians show their love, and genuine caring, Gazans will see another path, a “better idea.” They will realize that the extremist Islam that they have embraced has failed them. They will experience people with a relationship to the God of Israel and begin to realize that the people and State of Israel are not only not enemies but essential allies.

Ridiculous? Crazy? Perhaps. But there are no other feasible ideas. For details, visit SolutionForPeaceInGaza.com.

The writer is president of the Genesis 123 Foundation. He is a leader working with and among Christian supporters of Israel, and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel through his work, writing, and as host of the Inspiration from Zion podcast. Follow him at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com