Richard Haas
WSJ, Mar. 15, 2024
- CIJR does not endorse Mr. Haas’s opinion
“Implicit by its absence from Netanyahu’s day-after plan is a decision not to elevate the role of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which for all its flaws remains the best and potentially only security partner for Israel in both the West Bank and Gaza. Arguably, this is exactly why his plan excludes the PA.”
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel had not just the right to respond but the necessity: to show that Hamas would pay a high price for its savagery, to keep the perpetrators from killing again and to recover those who had been taken, hostage.
But the design and conduct of Israel’s response—both its tactical decisions and its strategic aims—have been, and remain, a matter of choice. And almost all of those choices have been counterproductive. Israel’s actions have left it worse off, at a great cost to itself and its relationship with the U.S. and in the lives of innocent Palestinians.
None of this was inevitable, even as Israel understandably sought revenge. Better options were available at every juncture over the course of more than five months of conflict.
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