The way to end the Gaza war has been clear for nearly a year
Every day he delays, Benjamin Netanyahu harms both Palestinian civilians and his people.
May 28, 2025
David Ignatius
excerpt:
Let’s agree that Netanyahu faces a ruthless terrorist enemy in Hamas and its champion, Iran. And let’s pause to remember the way Israelis were butchered on Oct. 7, 2023, as Hamas attacked across the Gaza fence. But that doesn’t change the obligation for Israel to end this war, for its own sake as well as to spare additional Palestinian civilian deaths.
What’s agonizing is that Israeli military and intelligence leaders were ready to settle this conflict nearly a year ago. Working with U.S. and Emirati officials, they developed a plan for security “bubbles” that would contain the violence, starting in northern Gaza and moving south, backed by an international peacekeeping force that would include troops from European and moderate Arab countries.
In place of Hamas, a Palestinian government, backed by a reformed Palestinian Authority, would take political control. This wasn’t a pipe dream. Officials worked out a detailed road map. They began planning to train the Palestinian security force that would replace Hamas. This was, as golfers like to say, “a makeable putt.”
But Netanyahu said no. His right-wing coalition partners demanded “total victory,” even though they couldn’t define just what that meant. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which had agreed to provide troops and money for Gaza security, got tired of waiting.
Postwar planning went into reverse when Trump arrived in the White House and talked about forcibly removing Palestinians and an American takeover of Gaza. But that idea fizzled. Netanyahu was left with a problem he didn’t know how to answer except with more military force. So, in March, after a two-month ceasefire, he resumed the war. Hamas, still strutting for the cameras even though it had been gutted militarily, made it easy for him.
The Israeli-Palestinian dispute might seem intractable, but ending this conflict would be relatively easy. I’m told that Israeli military officials keep working on “day after” plans, honing details as recently as this week. But they have had no political support from Netanyahu.
“The ‘exit ramp’ has been staring us in the face for a long time,” argues Robert Satloff, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It’s a mix of Arab states and Gaza Palestinians, operating under a Palestinian Authority umbrella, he explains. “It is messy, with overlapping responsibilities and lots of dotted lines. But it checks all the boxes to enable the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation to get off the ground.”
Beyond its awful cost in Palestinian lives, this war has damaged Israel. And I don’t simply mean the country’s international reputation, but its heart and soul. What began as a righteous war of retaliation for unspeakable atrocities has become, as Olmert accurately put it, “a war without purpose.” That kind of struggle bends back on itself, eating away at even the strongest, proudest nation.
Diplomats are needed to resolve most wars. In this case, however, I’d be happy to settle for a real estate developer — like Trump or his special envoy Steve Witkoff. The settlement terms have been obvious for a year. It’s time to close this deal and end the Gaza tragedy.
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