The siege of Gaza has failed. It has not weakened Hamas control of the strip; rather it seems to have cemented it. Nor has it disarmed Hamas. Hamas’ old enemy Fatah has faded away in Gaza. The opposition to Hamas’ control of Gaza today comes from even more radical groups that align themselves with al Qaeda. …
We need to find a way to get humanitarian aid to Gaza while ensuring Hamas can not smuggle in more rockets to attack Israeli cities and that prevents al Qaeda and other extremists from smuggling in “volunteers” who want to wage jihad.
Fortunately there is precedent for an international regime to monitor shipping in the region. In the 1990s the United Nations created a special regime to inspect cargo going to Iraq, then under UN sanctions, through the Jordanian port of Aqaba. … A regime like that needs to be established urgently to defuse Gaza. The U.N. hired Lloyds of London to provide inspectors who examined each cargo to ensure Iraq was not importing banned material, especially weapons or technology for weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi people got aid but Saddam could not get WMD.
A regime like that needs to be established urgently to defuse Gaza. NATO could help provide inspectors; it already has a counter terrorism naval presence in the Mediterranean called Operation Active Endeavour created immediately after 9/11. If Hamas refuses to accept such a regime, the onus for any suffering in Gaza would clearly be on it. If it does, then the world can start rebuilding Gaza. Access the full article>>
