Ariel and Rena Cohen: Postwar Gaza Needs a Multi-National Arab Force

President Donald J. Trump chose the Middle East for his first foreign trip.  This demonstrates the region’s importance to America for global security and investment. Trump secured over two trillion dollars from the Gulf monarchies.

However, Hamas’ intransigence prevented an agreement on stopping the war in Gaza, and Israel has expanded its ground operations to defeat the murderous Islamist terrorist organization. 

Leaving Hamas in place when hostilities finally stop will not only endanger lives of every Israeli and Gazan, as the organization promised more mega-attacks like October 7, 2023, but it will also sacrificing tens of thousands of Arab lives.

Instead, the U.S. should support Israel in forcing Hamas to surrender and leave the Strip. The question is, what happens the day after? Either the U.S. and Israel, with support of moderate Arab states define the future geopolitical landscape in the Middle East, or it will be done by other, anti-American and anti-Israel forces: Iran, Turkey, Russia, China, and European countries, which demand immediate recognition of a “Palestinian state”, and sanctions and boycotts of Israel. 

Therefore, the president’s legacy in the Middle East should be based on the sustainable Abraham Accords. Now is the time for leadership and a clear path forward to “the day after” in Gaza. Without it, failed strategies  – like premature recognition of a “Palestinian state” – will be dragged out to fill the vacuum. 

In fact, that is already happening.  And the results will be dysfunction and corruption, already baked into the West Bank and Gaza societies, will rule the day.  Hamas will reboot, rearm, and attack. Treasure will be wasted, blood will be spilled, lives will be lost. 

Washington should not wait. It should outrun the Europeans and lead the way now toward standing up a Multi-National Transitional Authority (MNTA) overseen by an International Contact Group (ICG) to take over the Strip when Hamas is defeated. The ICG should include the U.S., UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. 

What is needed instead is a new framework that can deliver real change.  The Gaza population, brainwashed and traumatized, deserves better than to languish in tent camps.  The entire Middle East – Israelis and Arabs alike – needs the Strip to be peaceable and thriving rather than a global charity case seething with hatred, violence, and corruption.  The key is to get the players to agree on a way forward. 

Gaza must have security and stability to attract the multi-billion-dollar investments it needs.  These can only happen if the population is freed from the murderous jihadist Hamas it myopically brought to power when elections were held at the insistence of the Bush Administration.  Soon after, Hamas violently took control.  So much for the experiment in democracy. The terrorists weaponized faith, brought bloodthirsty preaching to the mosques, taught kindergartners and schoolchildren to hate and kill, recruited child soldiers to fight and dig terror tunnels under the Strip, and stole billions in international aid money. Hamas also fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and villages before October 2023.   

This is not to say that every civilian in Gaza is a terrorist.  However, the people of Gaza have been in the grip of a murderous jihadi dictatorship for nearly a generation. It will take time and concerted work to eradicate the death cult that methodically poisoned the population’s minds, and bring back productivity, hope, and life.  The MNTA will face many challenges.  Setbacks should be expected, and adjustments will have to be made, but it is the best chance that Gaza – and the region – have for a better, saner day.  The ICG should formulate responsibilities, work scope and timing.  Stakeholders like Morocco and Jordan, with no record of supporting Hamas or seeking to destroy Israel, can be invited. 

To succeed, MNTA should:

Disarm and exile Hamas. Ensure that all weapons manufacturing facilities, tunnels, and weapons caches are documented and destroyed. Hamas leaders and loyalists who wish to follow them into exile should be let out of the Strip.  Any attempts to reinfiltrate or organize elsewhere should be met with lethal force.

Gazans who wish to leave should be allowed to depart. MNTA should stand up a program that allows Gazans who want to leave the Strip to depart. Reportedly, almost half of the Strip’s population wants to emigrate. People should not be condemned to stay in the tiny enclave. 

De-radicalize and educate. The Gaza population has been force-fed a diet of highly toxic ideas based on Islam for years.  The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are both experienced in deradicalization and should take the lead to ensure that Gaza’s mosques and schools become places of worship and education again.  It is vital to bring people away from the politics of hatred.

The UN need not apply. UNWRA’s shameful mating with terrorism over the years means it should be dismantled entirely.  The Abraham Accords have no such stain.

Provide Civilian Governance.The Palestinian Authority is notoriously corrupt, which disqualifies it from ruling Gaza or getting rich on the Gaza reconstruction finances. The ICG should ensure that completely transparent monetary, auditing, and reporting procedures are set up and maintained so rehabilitation cash does not end up in sticky (or blood-soaked) hands. 

The Gulf Cooperation Council nations can and should step up financially, as should others to rebuild the Strip.  The U.S. and Israel can also contribute.  Pre-screened Gazans should be employed whenever possible.  

Projects can include housing, housing, hotels and industry. Emirati ownership and management will go a long way to stand up the Gaza airport and rebuild Gaza port.  Those who invest in infrastructure projects and tourist attractions should see a return on investment.  Having public and private sector stakeholders build wealth and facilitate trade with Gaza will do miracles to assure that its population enjoys employment opportunities and durable peace. 

Provide Security & Policing. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) should operate in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt and other key areas.  Border control can be shared with Egypt at the Rafah Crossing, and Israel together with others should oversee border security for the port and airport. 

Local policing should be done at first by MNTA external forces, phasing in carefully pre-screened Gazans as trust is built.  

Transition to Local Governance.  After years of deradicalization, confidence-building, patience, and training, the MNTA may gradually wind down its responsibilities, turning them over to vetted and qualified residents so a viable civil administration emerges. It won’t be easy. And it won’t be quick.  However, lasting solutions usually aren’t: just look at Bosnia which underwent a bloody civil war in which 100,000 were killed and over 2 million displaced. Today, it enjoys an fragile peace. The MNTA represents a concrete promise that the nightmare will be over.  After Hamas is gone, the Abraham Accords countries, together with a coalition of the willing, can bring the dawn of a much better day for Gaza.

Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow (non-resident) of the Atlantic Council, and an expert on Russia, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Rena Cohen, born in Kibbutz Nachshon, is the founder of the Books for Israel project, a volunteer effort that supplied tens of thousands of books for Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze schools in Israel.