ZOILO “BINGO” P. DEJARESCO III l April 22, 2024 l Manila Bulletin
AT THE RATE the Israelis are pounding Gaza (only 2.1 million inhabitants) in order to pulverize the Hamas terrorists, who killed 1,200 Israelis in a stealthy attack last October 7, there is little to govern in Gaza after the smoke of battle subsides.
Every day that Israelis bomb and attack Gaza will always result in prolonging and increasing the cost of rehabilitation of Gaza. It is difficult to say when the Israelis shall have fully defeated Hamas since, as a political party, Hamas has infiltrated other facets of Gaza society- business, government, judiciary and education. Hamas is not just a military apparatus.
So, after the war, the Israelis may want to rule Gaza but they cannot govern. There’s a lot of difference there. In fairness, Israel is saying now they just want to be a dominating force in Gaza, but not a governing one.
It is a “puzzlement” for us, though, about how can one dominate and yet not govern. Israel wants the Palestinian Authority (under leader Hammoud Abbas who has ruled for 18 years) to possibly take over and rule Gaza. Definitely, no Hamas. But while the Palestinians find Hamas as “reckless and imprudent”, they also view the Abbas Group as “corrupt, inefficient and complicit to Israel” pressure. Neither do the Palestinians trust Fata (who is currently governing the West Bank) to rule Gaza.
A United Nations peacekeeping force, we read, is also not pleasurable to either the Israelis or the Palestinians for their own selfish reasons. Israel also seems wanting to wash its hands over governing a “devastated” and perhaps “ungovernable” Gaza after the war.
All it wants are buffer zones in the area to protect Israel from a repeat of the attack last October. The option to let loose hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the deserts and convert Gaza into an inhabitable wilderness is, of course, also considered to be thoroughly uncivilized and undemocratic.
Gaza- six months from October last year- is literally in shambles. Its economy is shut. Thirty-three thousand people have died and counting and one million of the 2.1 million are homeless. Ninety percent of the health facilities are destroyed as with their schools, which have been converted into temporary shelters.
Some 200,000 jobs have been lost (90 percent of workers), translating to a daily income loss of $4.1 million, resulting in an 80 percent lowdown of Gaza’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Gaza used to be sufficient in fish, fruits and vegetables but now 50 percent of its agri land has been rendered useless. They have barely anything to eat and some have taken animal feeds for food- good gracious. Some have no choice but to drink dirty water (no choice) or die of thirst,
causing intestinal disorders. What an awful state.
The Washington-based Middle East Institute says that at the rate homes are destroyed, for many years the Gaza folks will be living inside tents as the rehab goes on. The World Bank estimates that the initial rehab cost till January 2025 will already be $18 B, mostly for the reconstruction of homes (70 percent) and the rest for power, water, health and education.
Who then would like to run and govern Gaza after the war? Basically, no one.
The Israelis knew beforehand that to destroy Hamas, they need not destroy the whole house just to kill a rat. But that is exactly what they did. Now, there is this price to pay.
So, the misery for Gaza will not end with the cessation of hostilities. On the contrary, recovering back to square one will be quite a tortuous journey. And no one wants to take charge. Pity this nation. No thanks to Hamas.
AT THE RATE the Israelis are pounding Gaza (only 2.1 million inhabitants) in order to pulverize the Hamas terrorists, who killed 1,200 Israelis in a stealthy attack last October 7, there is little to govern in Gaza after the smoke of battle subsides.
Every day that Israelis bomb and attack Gaza will always result in prolonging and increasing the cost of rehabilitation of Gaza. It is difficult to say when the Israelis shall have fully defeated Hamas since, as a political party, Hamas has infiltrated other facets of Gaza society- business, government, judiciary and education. Hamas is not just a military apparatus.
So, after the war, the Israelis may want to rule Gaza but they cannot govern. There’s a lot of difference there. In fairness, Israel is saying now they just want to be a dominating force in Gaza, but not a governing one.
It is a “puzzlement” for us, though, about how can one dominate and yet not govern. Israel wants the Palestinian Authority (under leader Hammoud Abbas who has ruled for 18 years) to possibly take over and rule Gaza. Definitely, no Hamas. But while the Palestinians find Hamas as “reckless and imprudent”, they also view the Abbas Group as “corrupt, inefficient and complicit to Israel” pressure. Neither do the Palestinians trust Fata (who is currently governing the West Bank) to rule Gaza.
A United Nations peacekeeping force, we read, is also not pleasurable to either the Israelis or the Palestinians for their own selfish reasons. Israel also seems wanting to wash its hands over governing a “devastated” and perhaps “ungovernable” Gaza after the war.
All it wants are buffer zones in the area to protect Israel from a repeat of the attack last October. The option to let loose hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the deserts and convert Gaza into an inhabitable wilderness is, of course, also considered to be thoroughly uncivilized and undemocratic.
Gaza- six months from October last year- is literally in shambles. Its economy is shut. Thirty-three thousand people have died and counting and one million of the 2.1 million are homeless. Ninety percent of the health facilities are destroyed as with their schools, which have been converted into temporary shelters.
Some 200,000 jobs have been lost (90 percent of workers), translating to a daily income loss of $4.1 million, resulting in an 80 percent lowdown of Gaza’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Gaza used to be sufficient in fish, fruits and vegetables but now 50 percent of its agri land has been rendered useless. They have barely anything to eat and some have taken animal feeds for food- good gracious. Some have no choice but to drink dirty water (no choice) or die of thirst,
causing intestinal disorders. What an awful state.
The Washington-based Middle East Institute says that at the rate homes are destroyed, for many years the Gaza folks will be living inside tents as the rehab goes on. The World Bank estimates that the initial rehab cost till January 2025 will already be $18 B, mostly for the reconstruction of homes (70 percent) and the rest for power, water, health and education.
Who then would like to run and govern Gaza after the war? Basically, no one.
The Israelis knew beforehand that to destroy Hamas, they need not destroy the whole house just to kill a rat. But that is exactly what they did. Now, there is this price to pay.
So, the misery for Gaza will not end with the cessation of hostilities. On the contrary, recovering back to square one will be quite a tortuous journey. And no one wants to take charge. Pity this nation. No thanks to Hamas.
***(Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner, and author. He is a Life and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com . Photo from Pinterest.