Until October 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel, United States and its Western allies, including Britain were optimistic of resolving Middle East crisis by implementing their “two state” formula, as they believed, Palestinians too are in favor of peaceful resolution to the issue. But, following Hamas pogrom, the US is compelled to reevaluate its stance and actions amidst a conflict steeped in complexity and historical precedent. The October 7 pogrom and subsequent celebration of it by Palestinians and active participation of Gazans in the pogrom evidently prove – Palestinians and their leaders are not in favor of any peaceful solution to the crisis. Instead, they want to turn Gaza and other adjacent areas occupied by Arabs into a massive terrorist launchpad, while Iranian proxies such as Hamas are willing to use Gaza as a strong Iranian base for targeting and attacking Tehran’s rivals in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain etcetera.
Now it has been proved beyond doubt that establishment of anything called Palestine would become a maximum-security threat to the Middle East as well as Western nations including the United States. Especially, it is important to mention here that hundreds and thousands of Palestinians have already succeeded in entering Western countries – through illegal migrant floodgate in the US as well as through English Channel to Britain and other European countries. The massive size of Palestinians in the Western countries are now terrorist ticking bombs, as almost hundred percent of Palestinians believe in terrorist acts against Israel, Jews and the West while more than 83 percent of them are in favor of terrorist agendas of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other small jihadist groups in Gaza and beyond. According to some sources, Gaza-based terrorist groups have already started expanding footprint within Hebron, Jericho, Bethlehem, Halhul, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Khan Yunis, Jenin, Jabalia, and Beitunia cities, while these groups are secretly patronized and harbored by members of Fatah party and other political fractions. It is even rumored that, despite open enmity between Fatah and Hamas, both have commonly agreed grounds of causing damage to Israel and its citizens.
With such disturbing realities, for United States and its Western allies, priority may now be shifted to curbing the Islamist and terrorist groups in Gaza and other cities in “Palestine” through stringent policy measures. One of the key priority issues now is – complete destruction of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza and liberate the city from vicious captivity of Hamas and Palestinian terrorists. For achieving this goal – it is essential to ensure, no Palestinian would have access to Gaza in the future, while the entire area can be transformed into residential area accommodating exclusive Israeli citizens. At the same time, for the sake of national security of Israel, there should be sophisticated surveillance and counterterrorism equipment installed within border checkpoints, which are used by Palestinians for entering and exiting Israel. For any Palestinian entering the territory of the State of Israel, only verification of required documents should not be considered as sufficient onwards. Instead, for every Palestinian entering Israel, biometric identification should be made compulsory, as a large segment of Palestinian populace are already proved to be either connected to terrorist acts or sympathizer and supporter of anti-Israel terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, for the sake of completely annihilating Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups, a resolution in the US Congress, calling unequivocally for the eradication of the Hamas is essential. It shall ensure, United States’ unyielding commitment to Israel’s sovereignty and safety, and the eradication of threats to Israel, and the wider region.
At the same time, it is important to remember, the financial aid flowing from the Gulf state have inadvertently fueled terrorist agenda of Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups.
A recalibration of US-Qatar relations is urgent. Measures such as the revocation of Qatar’s major non-NATO ally status, threatening Qatar’s access to US financial systems, and even the potential relocation of the Al Udeid Air Base, hang in the balance as potent levers to enforce a cessation of all funding to Gaza. In tandem with these international diplomatic maneuvers, a domestic reassessment of aid to Gaza is pivotal. It may be mentioned here that, recently it was disclosed that World Vision’s Gaza Director was involved in siphoning off tens of millions of dollars for Hamas proving aid or cash sent to Gaza or even cities controlled by Fatah can slip into the grips of Palestinian terrorist entities. We need not forget, leadership in Ramallah, including Mahmoud Abbas are notoriously corrupt, who can do anything for the sake of financial gains.
In my opinion, it may not be sufficient to only focus on Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. Rather, involvement of Palestinians in terrorist acts in Fatah-controlled areas should also come under stricter monitoring. Unless Western nations can impose a total ban on anti-Israel activities throughout the Middle East, particularly in Gaza and beyond and make it a precondition for any international support to Palestinians, terrorist plots targeting Israel and its citizen may not end.
