We should approach the crisis in the Gaza Strip not with might and force, but with spirit. This has always been true, but never so evident as now, in the clashes following tens of thousands of Palestinians charging the border fence. They are acting out of absolute despair. This phenomenon will not be deterred by snipers. Gaza is a large and cramped detention camp where 2 million human beings live without hope or meaning in their lives.
According to data provided by the Gisha group, an Israeli nonprofit organization advocating Palestinian rights of access and freedom of movement, unemployment in Gaza is over 50%. Gross national product per person in the Gaza Strip was $996 in 2015, as opposed to $35,500 in Israel. Seventy percent of Gazans are supported by United Nations institutions. Some 40% are under the age of 18. No one comes in or out of Gaza, except for cases of humanitarian need, merchants and religious figures.
The water infrastructure has been destroyed and those of sewage and electricity are in dire need of maintenance. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt was open only 17 times throughout 2017. The passage of people was allowed only on five days. Contact between Gazans and the outside world is effectively only virtual. Gazans in need of life-saving medical treatment in Israel depend on a harsh regime of permits. Gazan teenagers, born during the Second Intifada, have known nothing but Gaza.
Gaza is desperately poor, and that will continue to attract worldwide attention. No underground obstacle against terror tunnels, no Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system, no Israeli commando operations, will solve the basic need for young men and women in Gaza to live better lives.
We can rest on our laurels haughtily and say that this is not our problem.
But it is. During the last three conflicts in Gaza, thousands of combatants and civilians were killed, and thousands of others were injured. The events of the past few weekends are more than irksome; they cast a shadow on Israel's reputation like that following the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, in which 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed as a result of clashes when Israeli special forces boarded a ship that was trying to break the blockade of Gaza.
It is in Israel's national interest to ensure that life in Gaza will be better. This is the real meaning to "seek peace and pursue it" (Psalms 34:14).
The Israeli government must open the crossings and allow tens of thousands of Palestinian workers in to go to work in Israel, allow family meetings between Gaza and the West Bank, and encourage international and local bodies to invest in Gaza's industrial and economic development. Students must be allowed to leave Gaza to study and to emigrate, and the destroyed infrastructure must be fixed, if only to instill hope in the hearts of residents. It is not ridiculous to demand that the Israeli government hold talks with Hamas to promote a sort of collaboration to benefit the area. A strong Israel can allow itself to act that way.
