A Lasting Gaza Peace Needs Two Elections and One Prisoner Release
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to reset politically to secure peace in Gaza.
Photographer: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty Images
The remains of the final Israeli hostage Hamas abducted to Gaza during the group’s savage Oct. 7, 2023, attack on kibbutzim have now returned home. The event marks a turning point for the US-led peace process and an opportunity for the fresh start that will be needed to make it work.
The US is using this moment to cajole both sides into phase two of its 20-point peace plan for Gaza. That’s the part where Hamas disarms, the Israel Defense Forces withdraw, international peacekeepers take over the provision of security, Palestinian technocrats govern, and construction begins on a glittering new Riviera that will rise like a steel and glass Phoenix from the rubble of war.