Seth Frantzman
I’ve said throughout the war Hamas should be removed systematically from Gaza, block-by-block, street-by-street, the way ISIS was from Mosul; Gazan civilians should be enabled to move to IDP camps within areas cleared of Hamas that are administered with support from regional countries and secured by the IDF as the PA is enabled to return to parts of Gaza slowly such that a process of removing Hamas and replacing it happens in an orderly manner. The military operation to do this should have been done quickly and decisively to strike at Hamas in all areas it controls such as the central camps with a view to using military force to free hostages or secure a deal quickly; absent of a quick victory a deal is preferable but it must run concurrent with the removal of Hamas from other areas and preparing the ground for replacing Hamas completely. At the end of the process Hamas must be removed completely, not just its “military and governance capabilities”…but entirely and every hostage will be returned, including the deceased, even if difficult sacrifices must be made. When it is over a new trajectory for Gaza will be in place so that it is not just a scene or war for years to come. This won’t be easy but Hamas genocide of Oct 7 means that it must be extirpated like the Nazis and ISIS. The PA is far better than Hamas and it’s forced have never carried out similar attacks and it has never rockets in the West Bank. It needs reform and bolstering but this can be done concurrent with a “trust but verify” approach to enabling it in Gaza with the kind of “by, with and through” approach that worked in Iraq and Syria against ISIS. It’s not easy but changing the future is never easy. An endless aimless war leaving Hamas in power has not proven effective. What I proposed should have begun on October 8, now it’s been 16 months and is much harder to accomplish. But it’s still the best option