A Plan for Peace in Gaza

The Reforms That Could Allow the PLO to Lead and the Palestinian Authority to Govern

For the past decade, it has been clear that the “peace process” between Israelis and Palestinians long ago devolved into little more than an extended exercise in kicking the can down the road. Still, in recent years, the absence of sustained large-scale violence produced the illusion of stability. Even those who had not been lulled into complacency were shocked, however, by the outbreak of the devastating war that has been raging since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7.

The past three weeks have seen a loss of life on a horrific scale. For Israel, it is the most devastating civilian toll in its 75 years of existence. And more Palestinians were killed in the first 15 days of this war than during the second intifada, which lasted for more than five years, and all the rounds of violence since then, combined. Worse, it appears likely that many more thousands of Palestinian civilians will perish if Israel pursues its declared (though unattainable) objective of eliminating Hamas. The same outcome would follow even from the less ambitious goal of eradicating Hamas’s infrastructure.