August 11, 2026 | The Times
Israel wants peace but Hamas must disarm completely
Neither the Israeli public nor the military wants to remain in Gaza indefinitely. What they want is the terrorism to end
August 11, 2026 | The Times
Israel wants peace but Hamas must disarm completely
Neither the Israeli public nor the military wants to remain in Gaza indefinitely. What they want is the terrorism to end
Excerpt
The Board of Peace’s plan for Gaza offers a rare glimmer of hope amid years of bloodshed and despair. At its core is a straightforward proposition: the phased disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian terror organisations in exchange for the eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israelis and Gazans alike desperately want Hamas’s weapons taken away, Gaza demilitarised and a new form of leadership to take root — one based on respectful coexistence rather than endless jihad.
Many Israelis, still reeling from the horrors of October 7, see this as the only reliable way to restore security to the kibbutzim and towns that face Gaza. They have no appetite for indefinite military operations. Popular rhetoric aside, neither the Israeli public nor the military wants to remain in Gaza indefinitely.
Jonathan Conricus was international spokesperson of the IDF, 2017-2021 and is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.