"There are no Gulf states, let alone the European Union or the U.S. Congress, that would come to Gaza with bags of money to rebuild it if Israel does not have a legitimate Palestinian partner and a willingness to discuss a two-state solution. Any senior Israeli official who says otherwise is delusional," writes Thomas Friedman, the senior columnist for The New York Times, in a special column from Riyadh.
Friedman writes that he was concerned that Israel had entered Gaza with the aim of eradicating Hamas without a plan for what to do inside and among its residents. "Now, after a week in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, I am even more worried," the columnist writes.
According to him, Israel had full legitimacy to strike Hamas following the monstrous attack on October 7. "Hamas planned and carried out an operation of indescribable barbarism, apparently intended to harass Israel – and Israel did strike without thinking about the next morning the next morning... Hamas did not care about thousands of dead and wounded in Gaza. Israel does need (to care)," Friedman writes, explaining: "It is Israel that will inherit responsibility for a huge humanitarian disaster that will require an international coalition and several years of dealing with it."
Friedman notes that it will be an investment of billions of dollars, but that without a Palestinian partner and a political solution on the horizon, the money will not come and Israel will be left alone with the problem. "I was left with a very strong impression that the Saudis want the U.S. to end the war in Gaza as soon as possible because death and destruction radicalize the kingdom's young people, scare away investors and generally because the war interferes with Saudi Arabia's ambition to realize Mohammed bin Salman's vision for Saudi Arabia 2030, with reforms in education and infrastructure and strengthening the status of women."
"I certainly understand why renewing the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians and the Saudis and the Americans would be difficult even for a moderate government in Israel, let alone for the collection of fanatics who are now running Israel, who are committed to annexing the West Bank and whose craziest among them even desire the annexation of Gaza... But unless Israel proposes a long-term political vision to persuade the world to invest in Gaza, it will suffer serious diplomatic and economic damage. Gaza could become a huge wound that will burden Israel beyond its military, economic, and moral capabilities – and drag the US with it. That's why Netanyahu is now campaigning to stay in office by convincing his far-right base that only he will refuse the Biden administration's minimum demand: to nurture a renewed Palestinian Authority and offer a political horizon for Palestinian sovereignty."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us