crush and Destroy Hamas at all costs
this is the promise of Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a promise
that he has not stopped repeating in
recent months and he wasn't the only one
to get involved defense minister yav
Galant has also pledged to wipe the
Palestinian group off the face of the
Earth and that is exactly what Israel
has been doing for months the problem is
that it is taking not only Hamas but
also the entire Gaza Strip by storm the
devastation is total the response to the
7th of October attacks has been even
greater than anyone expected so far it
is estimated that more than half of all
buildings are either in Ruins or so
badly damaged as to be completely
uninhabitable entire neighborhoods have
been reduced to rubble and of course the
war is ongoing so the destruction will
be even greater more than a military the
Israel Defense Forces have become a kind
of demolition company that is leaving
the Gaza Strip a veritable Wasteland can
you imagine the horror of this 85% of
the population of this territory almost
2 million people have been displaced and
most of these people will probably never
be able to return to their homes the
situation is so bad that the United
States along with other countries such
as France Jordan and Egypt have had to
airdrop humanitarian Aid to try to avoid
a humanitarian catastrophe in fact the
US military is now preparing a floating
dock to carry much larger quantities of
supplies and aid but I'm sure you
already know all this if only because
it's basically what the mainstream media
repeats over and over again about this
war of course this is visual politics so
logically we can't stop there we have to
go one step further and the question is
what
now visual politic Community the large-
scale military operation is nearing its
end with the assault on the city of
rafar the Gaza Strip will be completely
conquered and of course the Israeli
Force maintains full control of the
airspace the coastline and the border
crossings in other words in the Gaza
Strip Israel is the new sheriff but wait
a minute because there is something
wrong with this whole whole story
despite all the fire and fury Hamas has
not disappeared and do you know what it
probably never will the ideas are not
going away the feeling of Revenge and
hatred towards the Jewish state is
spreading like wildfire among many young
people and of course if the gorillas
know anything it is precisely how to
move underground and so in recent weeks
attacks on Israeli soldiers are
multiplying in areas that apparently had
already been cleared it's something that
is beginning to remind many of nothing
less than the nightmare that United
States experienced in Afghanistan and
Iraq after both Wars ended what more
unlike Uncle Sam Israel cannot
indefinitely maintain a military
operation that is having a brutal cost
both in money and in mobilized soldiers
soldiers who logically if they are
deployed cannot go to work not to
mention the torrential Fallout of
international criticism that is
beginning to rain down on the country
without going any further the last
Eurovision Song Contest in which the
Israeli representative was persecuted
and booed is a good example of an
anti-israel sentiment that seemed to be
forgotten and that is now making a
comeback so I repeat the question what
can be done now what can Israel do any
ideas Retreat perhaps yes I'm sure many
of you have thought of this possibility
roll up their kit bags and send the
soldiers back to the barracks well if so
I'm sorry to tell you that that's not a
realistic option
either Israel cannot simply abandon the
strip and allow Hamas to regain control
that would be seen among Israelis as a
humiliating and bloody defeat so let me
repeat the question again what now what
are the possible outcomes of this war
what are the possible consequences of
the destruction that Israel has carried
out in this narrow and conflictive
territory the truth is that there
doesn't seem to be a clear Exit Plan
this is not just our opinion this is
what hery har Levy says and who is this
guy well he's not just anybody we are
talking about none other than the chief
of the defense staff of the Israel
Defense Forces and look how he doesn't
hold back IDF Chiefs said to upgrade
Netanyahu for failing to lay out
post-war strategy for Gaza so you see no
less than the head of the military is
saying it loud and clear he sees No Exit
Plan to the war and in his opinion that
is a tremendous mistake among other
reasons because without an Exit Plan the
war could become interminable but you
know what it's better if he tells us
himself as long as there is no
diplomatic process to develop a
governing body in the strip other than
Hamas we we will have to launch
campaigns again and again elsewhere to
dismantle the Hamas infrastructure and
it's not just the military leadership
saying this President Biden's own
National Security advisor Jake Sullivan
is basically saying the same thing if
Israel's efforts are not accompanied by
a political plan for the future of Gaza
and the Palestinian people the
terrorists will keep coming back we are
seeing this happen in Gaza City but this
is visual politic so of course we're not
stopping there in this video we're going
to see the three ways out of this war
but take note the exit strategies that
are realistic not the mirages impossible
Dreams and science fiction stories of
many analysts and politicians so with
that in mind fire up your engines and
let's
go stuck in a
labyrinth it doesn't matter whether or
not Israel succeeds in destroying Hamas
this war is desperately begging for a
way out other than condemning more than
2 million people to live per ently in a
tent under the constant sound of bombs
because as we've already seen that is
not an option that a way out is needed
is something that even Netanyahu himself
acknowledges albeit
half-heartedly we'll probably have to
have some kind of Civilian
Administration by Gins who are not
committed to our destruction and I say
half-heartedly because as you will see
he does not seem particularly committed
to the idea of seeking peace but be
there as it may and since I think we're
all clear that some sort of plan is
needed here let's take a look at the
options on the table one by
[Music]
one Israel could try to take over the
Gaza Strip that is to say to occupy it
militarily as it did until 2005 today it
seems like the distant past but the
truth is that for almost 40 years Israel
controlled this territory it's a place
where as in the West Bank today there
were also Jewish settlements in 2005
however prime minister Ariel Sharon
decided to withdraw it all both soldiers
and settlements with the idea that Gaza
would be de facto independent and could
thus move towards an administration of
its own it was a very clear first step
towards building a genuine Palestinian
State however within 2 years Hamas took
over and well you will know the story
Ariel Sharon's plan shattered into a
thousand pieces the problem with the
military occupation is that it would
require Israel to take responsibility
for the entire gazan population and of
course the cost would be
disproportionately high both in money
and in soldiers lives because let's be
honest Hamas and the Palestinian
Insurgency would do everything possible
to turn this operation into torture so
this military occupation thing is out of
the question however this leads us
directly to a possible evolution of this
first plan a plan which by the way is
being advocated by a large part of the
Israeli right wing we're talking about
turning Gaza into a Swiss cheese in the
image and likeness of the West Bank and
keep in mind the information we have
today tells us that in one way or
another this could be the way to go so
what exactly would this swiss cheese
solution consist of
well the idea would be that the war
would continue until Hamas is
effectively crushed not their ideas of
course and not their organization but at
least their political and military power
Israel would then divide the strip into
three areas separated from each other by
relatively tight security cordons
controlled by his Armed Forces which
could use these corridors to intervene
quickly whenever a mopping up or
punishment operation was needed this is
not a theory it's something that Israel
is already preparing this is the case
for example in the Sim Corridor this 7
km long Corridor separates Gaza City
from the rest of the strip where Israel
is already building military bases and
surveillance structures according to
satellite images monitored by The
Washington Post Israel is even preparing
a zone of checkpoints to pass from one
side to the other and something very
similar although not as aggressive would
occur in the South with an additional
security Zone the Practical result is
that each of the localities in this
territory would be separated from the
Rest In This Way Israel would be able to
divide the shrip into small enclaves
that would would be much easier to
control and according to some sources
the Israeli government may even want to
try to make Gaza City where most of the
gazan population has lived until now
virtually empty or allow only controlled
let's call them non-hostile people to
live there the idea would apparently be
to move the possible rocket launching
zones far away from the most populated
areas of Israel for the time being what
we know is that Israel has banned access
to this city and has also turned off the
tap of humanitarian Aid probably to
force the 300,000 people who are still
there to move and remember the plan is
even
broader on top of what we've already
told you Israel has also demolished all
the buildings located within 1 kilm of
the border from now on this space will
be a kind of huge militarized security
Cordon where no Palestinian will be able
to enter a space that as you can imagine
will be heavily guarded and protected by
the Armed Forces of course as you all
know the Gaza Strip is a small Enclave
so by itself this Cordon accounts for
16% of its entire territory finally once
all these measures and secure spaces are
in place Israel would leave the site
while maintaining its military presence
both in the netsim corridor and on the
Gaza border from where it would also
actively monitor the entire
area visual politic Community this is
basically the plan that Israel or at
least a good part of the government
seems to be working on at the moment of
course it is not that easy why because
it would practically establish an
apartheid system in Gaza think about it
gazans would not be able to move freely
all their trade would be heavily
restricted Israel would control all
entries and exits and of course there
could be no Economic Development instead
of plan Israel we might as well call it
plan South Africa of course the
International Community starting with
the United States and continuing with
the Arab countries have already said
that they will not allow it so as much
as this possibility may please the
religious zionists who are the
extremists forming government with
Netanyahu this does not seem a v able
plan in the medium to long term in other
words it's back to the drawing
board in the United States they are
considering a very different possibility
the withdrawal of Israeli troops from
the Gaza Strip which will be
automatically replaced by a
multinational Force composed mainly of
soldiers from Arab countries in this way
administrative control would be seeded
to the Palestinian National Authority
and international troops would be in
charge of ensuring security and
preventing Hamas from regaining power
this is a that sounds pretty good to
many people in Israel this would be in
Israel's interest the option of the
Palestinian Authority taking control of
Gaza is much better than having our
soldiers control 2.2 million people we
are not interested in holding that
territory all we want is a peaceful
situation for our people the plan would
in turn be accompanied by a huge sum of
money to finance the Reconstruction who
would put up the dough basically the
United States the European Union and
above all the Arab countries so let's
just say it would be a way for the
United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to
buy the normalization of their political
and economic ties with Israel from their
respective peoples sounds like a great
option doesn't it well put on the brakes
because it's not that easy
[Applause]
either first because the Palestinian
National Authority is not popular at all
neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank and
in reality it most likely wouldn't be
any alternative Administration imposed
from outside that would have to confront
Hamas Islamic Jihad Palestine and other
Guerilla organizations it would almost
certainly be seen as an outsider and
collaborator of Israel and second and
perhaps even more importantly because
the Arab countries are not amused by all
this put your soldiers in a hornet's
nest and give the impression that they
are collaborating with Israel's troops
no thanks but Washington is trying
nonetheless us encouraging Arab states
to join multinational post-war force in
Gaza the problem is that the Arab
countries have sensed all the
inconveniences that this intervention
could bring them and guess what they are
being damned smart they are telling the
United States okay but as long as they
lead the operation in other words that
the US put up most or at least many of
the soldiers in practice this is
tantamount to torpedoing the operation
because of course this is non-negotiable
for Washington US soldiers in Gaza would
become walking targets the risk of
returning to the worst post-war moments
in Iraq would be highly likely and this
is something totally unacceptable for
Uncle s and that's not even all Arab
countries are also demanding that the
United States recognize the Palestinian
State and if all this were not enough
Israel has already said that it does not
trust such a plan no way is it going to
delegate control of Hamas to soldiers
from Saudi Arabia the United Arab
Emirates Morocco or Jordan much less
does it trust a Palestinian National
Authority that still does not condemn
the attacks of 7th of October so Israel
has already made it clear that in any
case it would reserve the right to
intervene which of course scares the
Arab countries even more lest Israeli
bombs end up falling on their own
soldiers that would lead to a mega
crisis and to top it all off the problem
of the Palestinian state would continue
to exist and as long as it exists there
will hardly be a real solution to the
conflict so although we cannot rule out
an option that the United States is
still working on it does not seem at all
likely to go ahead and if it does go
ahead it's not clear that it would be a
real solution and this leads us doley to
make a 180° turn and put on the table an
alternative that very few are arguing
for but that could be a real Turning
Point a new plan that in the long run is
probably the most realistic option of
all we're talking about putting an end
once and for all to the idea of the
Palestinian state in order to try to put
in place two different Palestinian
States wait a minute what's this all
about well we're going to take a look at
that right
[Music]
now okay this option is not completely
independent of the previous two would
also require a gradual and probably not
immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops
and subsequent support and money from an
international partnership even so it
would have an important difference
instead of giving power to the
Palestinian National Authority the idea
would be to launch a new local
Administration with gazin at the helm
and with the possibility of soon
becoming a full Sovereign and
independent state visual politic
Community it may surprise you but the
Palestinian statehood story is becoming
a big trap Palestine can hardly ever be
a cohesive independent state why do I
say this well because their territories
are tremendously different look at this
Gaza is an urban territory the West Bank
on the other hand is much more Rural and
much less urbanized Gaza is a compact
territory the West Bank is not Gaza is a
coastal territory with ports while the
West Bank is landlocked Gaza is
connected to Egypt the West Bank to
Jordan Gaza is very poor the West Bank
on the other hand has an average income
in practice everything is different and
that means the needs the problems and
the policies required are very different
what's more the two territories are not
contiguous and they will never have easy
communication with each other Israel
will always be in the way and if
historical evidence tells us anything
it's that this rarely Works among other
reasons because political leaders are a
product of their environments so I can
already tell you that the political
leaders in Gaza and the West Bank are
going to be more and more different as
time goes by
therefore to insist on the two-state
solution Israel and Palestine is to bet
on a failed solution from the outset
evolving to a three-state solution could
be much better the territories would
have their own Dynamics could develop
their own policies could have
administrations much more in touch with
the people and could better control the
territory and don't forget that a
Palestinian State as such has never
existed so there's not really anything
to lose of course the problem of Hamas
and other radical groups would still
exist but starting to build an
independent state once and for all with
the support of the rest of the Arab
countries could make the gazen society
inclined to look to the Future instead
of continuing to rely on these terrorist
and radical groups it would be something
like giving them a real outlet and if it
doesn't work it could at least make it
possible to solve the other half of the
problem that of the West Bank a
territory that in recent years has been
much more connected to Israel now the
question is could Gaza really develop
well in order to wrap up this video that
is exactly what we are going to look at
[Music]
Gaza
2.0 when Israel withdrew completely from
the Gaza Strip in 2005 the expectation
was that the territory could prosper by
exporting products to Egypt and also to
Israel however when Hamas took control
in 2007 all these plans went out of the
window the Palestinians instead of
taking advantage of the productive
resources left behind by the Israelis
destroyed them because they were Jewish
installations and not only that the
Hamas takeover with its extremist and
violent discourse caused both Israel and
Egypt to establish a trade blockade that
has strangled the gazen economy on top
of all that this territory has an
additional problem too many people in
too little space the strip is almost as
densely populated as the city of London
but has the amenities of a small town in
Iowa this makes Gaza dependent on the
outside even for food there is simply
not enough land available to feed so
many people what's more the problem is
growing because the population here is
very very young and growing all the time
well all these factors explain why even
before this latest Clash with Israel
Gaza was already a tremendously poor
place that basically survived thanks to
International charity however it is not
all bad news Gaza also has some
advantages for example it's a coastal
land located in the middle of the
Mediterranean Sea this means that if
things were normalized this place would
have much more facilities than for
example the West Bank to trade with the
rest of the world plus Gaza also has
many beaches this could facilitate the
arrival of tourists especially from
other Arab countries such as Egypt or
Jordan Gaza could even become a kind of
tax Haven for Muslims from all over the
world after all right now its tax system
is virtually non-existent so the new
authorities could use this as a starting
point to set up a very competitive tax
policy that would be able to attract a
lot of money particularly from the more
than 6 million people who make up the
Palestinian diaspora worldwide
this is in fact unaccounted for but
remittances are by far the main economic
activity in Palestine they account for
almost 1/5 of its entire economy and
even more so in Gaza so if things were
to normalize the influx of money could
be very important and an even more
crucial factor is gaza's location next
to Egypt a Muslim country with almost
120 million inhabitants would also be of
enormous help not only could Gaza
attract many Egyptians as an exotic
lowcost tourist destination but they
could also sell them many services but
okay I know I know that all this may
seem like a real science fiction novel
right now and that many of you may think
I've gone out of my mind but if things
stabilize all these new businesses could
start sprouting up relatively quickly
the problem is that in order for this to
happen Hamas and the other radical
groups have to disappear that would open
the way for Garin to create their own
State money for reconstruction dreams
and a professional future could it begin
to end the reign of Hamas it's a
possibility its success is not certain
but it's probably the best alternative
of all but having said that now the
question for us to start the debate is a
very clear one how would you resolve
this conflict we'll open a debate in the
comments and we'll be happy to read your
opinions now if you found this video
interesting don't forget to like And
subscribe to visual politic if you
haven't already done so thank you very
much once again for being there all the
best and see you soon
[Music]