Netanyahu has always been passive-aggressive in the West Bank. On the one hand, he does just enough for the Palestinians to keep the Americans off his back, and when prominent reactionary politicians call for ethnic cleansing, he denies that it is government policy. On the other hand, he quietly approves settlements and physical improvements that make a two-state solution more difficult. It’s a tightrope act, but in his eyes, it has worked; the idea of a Palestinian state is farther off than it was 30 years ago.
We may be seeing some of the same dynamics in Gaza. Extremist members of the cabinet are openly calling for ethnic cleansing and Israeli settlement. The president of Israel denies that is government policy. In the meantime, the Israeli military is pounding Gaza to ashes. Soon, the world will be hearing from Netanyahu that the only humanitarian response to the situation is to encourage the Palestinians to leave. We and the Arabs, as the story will go, have a moral obligation to clean up Israel’s mess. Facts on the ground prevail over justice.
It won’t work. The Palestinians won’t want to leave; the Arab states won’t accept them; the Saudis and Americans won’t pay for it; and no Israelis will want to settle in Gaza. It’s not exactly the land of milk and honey even when it hasn’t been reduced to rubble.