A new idea for the day after Gaza

There’s a good reason that few want to discuss what happens the day after the Gaza War is wrapped up – mostly because no one has a viable solution for a plausible leadership to fill the inevitable void that will be left once Israeli troops begin to make their exit.

Yet, despite the uncomfortable subject, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is adamant in pointing out the urgency of finding an alternative to the terrorist government, responsible for the deaths and suffering of more than 1,200 Israelis, as well as thousands of their own people who became collateral damage in their quest to eliminate the Jewish homeland.

In his article entitled, “Administering the Gaza Strip," Tamir Hayman, executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies, proposes a new and improved Palestinian Authority (PA) which he sees as “the only Palestinian alternative to Hamas’s rule in Gaza,” despite his acknowledgment of their corruption and military inability to defeat Hamas.

Although his suggestion is not feasible, it’s easy to understand why almost everyone is of the viewpoint that Gaza must be ruled by Palestinians or Arabs whose shared culture, language and background would most benefit the two million people who live there.

Hayman points out that any alternative government must change the school curricula, offer employment opportunities and confront the twisted ideology that keeps them imprisoned in their own bondage. So, who might be up to that gargantuan task?

It stands to reason that surrounding Gulf states are the most likely candidates. But, don’t look to Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, both of whom still fail to provide human rights for women, despite their touting a freer and more liberal society.

Among all the Arab countries in the region, only one is closest to the Western values of freedom, as well as economic and equal opportunities for women. That is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), composed of seven states, including the better-known Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The country, led by Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has continued on the same path as the late Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mohamed’s older half-brother, a pro-Western modernizer, who was responsible for turning the country into a regional economic powerhouse.

The new Emirati leader, MBZ, as he’s known, earned his degree in the U.K., and is said to be a capitalist who continued to bring more freedom to his country by decriminalizing many social issues that had been viewed as punishable crimes, including the consumption of alcohol and co-habitation. Seen as pro-Israel, MBZ signed on to the Abraham Accords, back in 2020, in the hope of establishing a diplomatic relationship with Israel.

Given his own disdain for the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Iranian Shia Islamists, a group of like-minded UAE appointees, backed by their military, which presently has an army of 65,000 troops, might be the best of all options for a Hamas-free Gaza.

Such a scenario could offer many benefits for the UAE, including the development of a closer relationship with Israel, since they would, undoubtedly, partner together in this endeavor of which we have a vested interest. Turning Gaza into a normalized society that values life, respects others, despite their differences, and strives to build a prosperous future, would be the greatest feat they could ever hope to achieve, for all mankind.

Nothing might ever be as fulfilling and satisfying as our two countries working together, in the common goal to rid the world of evil terrorists.

Additionally, the UAE gets to expand its influence and leadership, which might be of interest to them, given their economic rivalry with Saudi Arabia, because, under the right leadership, Gaza has the potential to become a Middle-Eastern paradise, which could attract worldwide tourism. Perhaps, getting in on the ground floor of such a project would offer a real incentive to the philanthropic Crown Prince who, at age 63, generously contributes to many worthwhile causes and still aspires to better the region.

The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, in his book entitled, “Lessons in Leadership,” speaking about Moses said, “No one else was prepared to come to the rescue. It took a Moses to act. But that is what makes a leader. A leader is one who takes responsibility. Leadership is born when we become active rather than passive. When we do not wait for someone else to act, because, perhaps, there is no one else – at least not here, not now. There are people who say, “If something is wrong, let me be among the first to put it right. They are the leaders. They are the ones who make a difference in their lifetimes. They are the ones who make ours a better world.”

At this present moment in history, no one seems to be offering a solution to the world’s powder keg which could so easily ignite the region into a cataclysmic war, spreading throughout the Asian continent and then working its way to the rest of the world, all because no one was up to the task of leading Gaza in the direction of a better existence to freedom and prosperity.

One thing we know for sure is that the Palestinian Authority is not the answer. Their fecklessness, corruption and lack of true moral leadership are what led our own misguided leaders to believe that Hamas might be a better, more pliable partner with whom we could work together towards the goal of peace and coexistence. Look how that ended!

Since Israel has the most to lose in this battle of good and evil, it is to our benefit to wisely choose, this time around, as to who would be the most suitable partner for peace, able to change the trajectory of a people who have willingly cooperated with bad actors, selling them out time and again, bringing nothing but misery, poverty and an ideology based on hatred and murder.

Can the UAE have the right combination of strength, will, determination and foresight to take on the task which no one else is even willing to consider? It’s worth exploring, because, as Gallant says, “Delaying the decision any further will ensure a strategic Israeli defeat, failure to achieve the war’s aims and will allow Hamas to continue its rule.”