Dilemmas on Ending the War – Gershon Baskin

Below are the main dilemmas we all face – these are questions I ask myself and the decision makers:

• How to bring the abductees home – all of them – without surrendering to Hamas?

• How to ensure that Hamas does not control Gaza and continue to threaten us without killing many more innocent Palestinian citizens and without flattening Gaza completely?

• How do you guarantee that Gaza will not be ruled by Hamas and that Gaza will be demobilized after the war?

• How will we bring about the rehabilitation of Gaza, the unification of Gaza with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and require deep reforms in the Palestinian Authority, including democratic elections for a new leadership?

• How do we put an end to the illusion that Israel can rule over another nation and its territory and live in peace?

• How do we put an end to the illusion that it is possible to lock up two million people in one large prison for 18 years and expect it to be quiet?

• How will we ensure stability with our neighbors – Jordan and Egypt – when the war continues in Gaza and masses of innocent Palestinian civilians are killed?

• How will we mobilize in the post-war period the constructive support of Arab countries, those with peace agreements with Israel and those without peace agreements with Israel?

• How will we achieve all of the above without a ground invasion of Gaza?

Originally Published in Hebrew in the Al Quds newspaper at https://alquds.com/he/posts/98030

Categories: Insights

Gershon Baskin

Gershon Baskin is one of the most recognizable names in the Middle East Peace process. He is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to peace between Israel and its neighbors. His dedication to creating a culture of peace and environmental awareness, coupled with his impeccable integrity, has earned him the trust of the leaders of all sides of the century old conflict. Few people have such far-reaching and positive impacts on promoting peace, security, prosperity and bi-national relationships. Gershon is an advisor to Israeli, Palestinian and International Prime Ministers on the Middle East Peace Process and the founder and director of IPCRI, the Israeli-Palestinian Public Policy Institute. He was the initiator and negotiator of the secret back channel between Israel and Hamas for the release of 1,027 prisoners – mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis of which 280 were sentenced to life in prison, including Yahya Sinwar, the current Palestinian leader of the Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The prisoners were imprisoned for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Jewish targets that resulted in the killing of 569 Israelis in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit. Gershon is actively involved in research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, environmental security, political strategy, peace education, economics, culture and in the development of affordable solar projects with the goal of providing clean electricity for 50 million people by 2020. He is a founding member of Kol Ezraheiha-Kol Muwanteneiha (All of the Citizens) political party in Israel. He is now directing The Holy Land Bond and is the Middle East Director for ICO – International Communities Organization - a UK based NGO working in conflict zones with failed peace processes.