What happens after the cease fire? Hopefully soon, sanity and humanity will prevail, and there will be a cease fire. Then what?
Israel's stated aims for the current operation are to restore calm, and degrade Hamas' ability to conduct terror operations. There are extremists in Israel calling for a reoccupation, but the current Israeli government has consistently rejected the idea of a sustained military presence in Gaza, but has been silent on a vision of what the situation looks like further in the future.
At the Emergency meeting of the UNSC yesterday:
Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor said that in the face of terrorist kidnappings, rockets raining down on citizens and jihadists tunneling under its borders Israel was left with no choice but to enter Gaza "to restore a sustained quiet to the people of Israel while degrading Hamas' terror capabilities."
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Jeffrey Feltman, at the same meeting:
a cease-fire is "indispensable." But the only way to make it stick is for the international community to "assume its responsibility to urgently help restore a serious prospect for a two-state solution that brings an end to the decades-long conflict and occupation," he said.
Does the cease fire create an opportunity for action on the part of the International community to more forcefully act in search of a strategy for a longer term solution? The International community is frustrated and alarmed at the idea of returning to the status quo ante, where Gaza is again in need of massive humanitarian assistance to address the massive humanitarian and environmental crisis in the Gaza strip, without addressing the underlying dynamics of statelessness, poverty, and humiliation of the Palestinians. They don't want to rebuild Gaza, or invest in economic development, only to see it all blown up in 3-4 years again.
The United States policy has been consistently in support of a two state solution, and that that vision can only be achieved by bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian authority.
Is this still the right policy? If so, why do you think so? Should we use our UNSC veto to frustrate other options that will emerge when the UN convenes tis fall? If not, what would be an appropriate policy?
John Kerry has clearly stated the status quo is untenable, the question is, what should replace the status quo?
According to the news website, Kerry reiterated a warning that failure of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations could lead to a resumption of Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens; He said he believes a change in the leadership of either the Israelis or Palestinians could help bring about a peace deal; and he heavily criticized Israel for continued building in West Bank settlements.
“There is a fundamental confrontation and it is over settlements. Fourteen thousand new settlement units announced since we began negotiations. It’s very difficult for any leader to deal under that cloud,” Kerry said.
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