A Peace Plan: Healing the Wounds of Gaza and Israel
Recently a friend sent me an essay written by Charles Eisenstein, “How to Heal the Wound of Gaza.”
“The wound of Gaza festers with hate, despair, and cruelty, leaching those poisons through the body of the world. Hate infects nearly every conversation about what is happening there; hate, and the dehumanization of the Other, whether that ‘other’ is the Palestinians or the Jews, or simply the people who hold a different opinion. The savagery one sees in online comments mirrors the savagery that Hamas dealt on October the 7th, the savagery against the Palestinians that preceded it, and the enormously greater savagery that Israel has unleashed since.”
With the recent IDF rescue of four hostages from Nuseirat in Gaza, at least 270 Palestinians were killed, a majority being women and children. The celebration of this war crime is only possible if one does not value human life. It is only possible if nationalist prejudice is stronger than humanitarian ethics.
How is Peace Possible?
Mr. Eisenstein writes: “After spending several months educating myself on the history of the conflict, I have come back to my initial instinct that peace does not depend on establishing a correct view of history. It lies outside the justifications that each side has. And so, I would like to propose a practical peace plan that allows each side to keep the history they tell themselves. Each side gets to continue believing they are right. They get to keep that. Something else, though, will need to be surrendered.”
For peace to be possible it will require a change in one’s belief that a strike deserves a counterstrike, a crime, a punishment, and revenge. In this instance of Israel against the Palestinians, no less than a miracle is in order. Peace will require choice and the will to change, to alter the trajectory of the continuing cycle of bloodshed, hate, and dehumanization.
Eisenstein’s Principles for a Peace Deal
The following are Charles Eisenstein’s core principles for peace:
Amnesty in exchange for disarmament.
Massive global humanitarian and peacekeeping presence
Dignity, hope, and equal rights for all who live in the Holy Land
“Missing from this list are punishment, vengeance, justice, and the righting of historical wrongs. The first two must be sacrificed. The others will emerge indirectly. The idea is simple, though its execution might need to proceed in phases: a progression of trust-building steps under close international supervision”.
The basic points are as follows:
Both sides agree to a complete, permanent ceasefire.
Hamas releases all hostages and relinquishes its weapons.
Israel grants amnesty to all Hamas fighters and frees all Palestinian prisoners.
International institutions like the ICC and ICJ grant amnesty to all Israeli war criminals.
Regional powers (Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.) agree to stop arming Hamas and other militant organizations, a commitment enforced by international monitors.
These nations also contribute to an international corps of peacekeepers who enter Gaza to dismantle the tunnels and ensure both sides abide by the truce.
A massive humanitarian influx follows the peacekeepers — tens of thousands of aid workers to feed, cloth, and heal the survivors of the war and rebuild Gaza’s homes, schools, and infrastructure.
Both Sides Appear to Want Peace
Amnesty is the bedrock of this plan. Amnesty is the political equivalent of forgiveness. It is wiping the slate clean and dropping the desire for justice and vengeance. There are already Israelis and Palestinians working together in a dialogue for peace. They know things cannot continue as they have been.
Sunday’s CBS show, Good Morning America, did an expose on this group of people, some even former Hamas and an Israeli soldier who want a plan for peace moving forward. They agree the killing and the suffering have to stop. It seems from video footage coming out of Israel, that there are massive demonstrations of Israelis demanding a change in government and an end to Netanyahu’s regime.
The U.S. needs to stop funding the genocide. The U.S. and the U.N. should only be supporting these movements toward peace and a permanent solution to the conflict. World peace and stability depends on it.
