This blog post by Elliott Abrams is published by Council on Foreign Relations. Here is an excerpt:
The recent war between Hamas and Israel was a perhaps unnecessary reminder of the problem that Hamas control of Gaza brings–to Gazans, Israelis, and all Palestinians. It’s obvious that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has no solutions to offer, and his most recent move was to cancel parliamentary elections yet again. None have been held since 2006, and he himself was elected in 2005–for a four year term now reaching its 17th year. It’s also clear that neither Israel nor Egypt wishes to “conquer” Gaza and take full responsibility for the area and its populace.
What then are the options? This is the subject of a symposium in Mosaic Magazine, building on an analysis by former Israeli ambassador to the United States and Knesset member Michael Oren entitled “How Gaza Became Israel’s Unsolvable Problem.”
My own contribution is called “What Can Be Done Politically To Weaken Hamas.” It begins this way:
America’s interests in Gaza are threefold: to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinians living there, to strengthen Israel’s security, and to see an end to the control of the Gaza Strip by a terrorist group increasingly allied with Iran. Hamas stands in the way of all three, and the end of Hamas control of Gaza should underpin America’s strategy in the region over the coming years. How can this be won?
Read the full article through this link.
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