Israel PM, Netanyahu outlines prerequisites for peace in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has outlined three prerequisites for peace in the region: the destruction of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza and the beginning of a deradicalization process of Palestinian society.

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu said once those three requirements are met, “Gaza can be rebuilt and the prospects of a broader peace in the Middle East will become a reality.”

Netanyahu has expressed support for these positions in the past, but in laying out his concrete position in a mainstream U.S. news outlet, Netanyahu makes Israel’s starting position clear as international pressure mounts to find a path to peace.

The Biden administration, while supporting Israel, has also sent signals it wants to see an end to the fighting amid internal and external pressures.

In advocating for the destruction of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Netanyahu notes Hamas’s leaders have vowed to repeat the brutal Oct. 7 attack “again and again,” writing, “That is why their destruction is the only proportional response to prevent the repeat of such horrific atrocities. Anything less guarantees more war and more bloodshed.”

Netanyahu pledged to “continue to act in full compliance with international law” in destroying Hamas, but he noted the difficulty in doing so, as he claimed Hamas frequently uses “Palestinian civilians as human shields.” Netanyahu emphasized Israel tries to minimize civilian casualties, outlining ways he said it does so.

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“Unjustly blaming Israel for these casualties will only encourage Hamas and other terror organizations around the world to use human shields. To render this cruel and cynical strategy ineffective, the international community must place the blame for these casualties squarely on Hamas,” Netanyahu wrote.

Israel has come under significant criticism for the type of bombs it has dropped in Gaza, with some arguing it could do much more to limit civilian casualties.

In demilitarizing Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel would need to retain “overriding security responsibility over Gaza” and dismissed the possibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) overseeing the territory. President Biden, for his part, has said the PA could govern Gaza.

Netanyahu said it “will require establishing a temporary security zone on the perimeter of Gaza and an inspection mechanism on the border between Gaza and Egypt that meets Israel’s security needs and prevents smuggling of weapons into the territory.”

To deradicalize Gaza, Netanyahu argued change would need to come from leadership as well as in what students are taught in schools. He said he believes the change is possible, drawing on recent successes in forging the Abraham Accords and pointing to post-World War II successes.

“Successful deradicalization took place in Germany and Japan after the Allied victory in World War II. Today, both nations are great allies of the U.S. and promote peace, stability and prosperity in Europe and Asia,” he wrote.

Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 in a surprise attack on Israel’s southern border and took about 239 hostages. Since then, about half have been released in a series of exchanges involving Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners.

Since Israel began its retaliation with a barrage of airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza, more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to estimates from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Much of Gaza has been flattened in airstrikes and about a quarter of its population faces “extreme hunger.”