J Street strongly advocates for the US government to prioritize diplomacy that secures an immediate stop to the fighting in Gaza, the release of the remaining hostages, and a surge of humanitarian assistance desperately needed by Gaza’s civilian population. The US government must remain actively engaged in the tough diplomacy necessary to achieve such an agreement. Given the unimaginable scale and extent of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the difficulty of achieving a negotiated ceasefire, the administration must do everything in its power meanwhile to facilitate a sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including through enforcing applicable US law.
Following the war, Israel must also commit to allowing the rebuilding of Gaza – unlike after previous wars, when Israel’s blockade of the Strip and Hamas’s continued control prevented adequate reconstruction. Leading Arab countries, the G7, and the EU, should commit to participate along with the US in Marshall Plan-style investment in the redevelopment of Gaza and the West Bank. Such reconstruction must of course take place in full coordination with a Palestinian government that has administrative responsibility for Gaza as well as the West Bank. That may be best accomplished through a new transitional PA leadership for an interim period, until elections are held.
Appointments of public positions and promotions should be awarded not on the level of loyalty to the leadership, but on the basis of performance or professional merit. The leadership of Hamas and anyone involved in planning or executing the October 7 massacre can have no role in this new transitional leadership.
As the Palestinian Authority Security Forces will not be able to step in immediately to secure Gaza, the US should support the gradual deployment of: 1) unarmed PA civil defense forces to aid in disaster response and reconstruction, and 2) Palestinian border and customs police. For a limited time, Palestinian forces should be supported by a US-incentivized international peace- keeping contingent, including Egyptian, Jordanian, and other Arab forces.
Ultimately, the reconstruction and governance of Gaza must be part of a larger effort to finally resolve the underlying Israeli-Palestinian conflict and provide for the people of Gaza within the context of a universally-recognized Palestinian state.