Liberating Gaza
The liberation of the Gaza Strip means unshackling Gazans from Hamas' terror regime and freeing Israelis from its menace. Throughout the last two decades, we have tried to understand how poverty, fundamentalism, and terror still abound in this era of the highest human achievement.
More specifically, we have tried to understand how lies and deceit can succeed in manipulating hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza, resulting in such a substantial amount of brutality, cruelty, and evil emanating from such a small enclave.
This analysis leads to an inevitable conclusion: the people of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, the two great powers, and the State of Israel all have a shared interest in eradicating Hamas and ending the war, then rehabilitating and reconstructing Gaza. We hope and trust that this interest will prevail.
Considering the constant interplay between strategy and tactics in the modus operandi of China and the U.S., together with the bilateral efforts to maintain an equilibrium between the two powers, we may ask: what will the powers opt for in the case of the Israel-Hamas War and the regional unrest that it sparked – strategies or tactics?
To crush Hamas – A shared interest
In the last book of the great American diplomat Henri Kissinger, where he elaborated his doctrine on foreign relations as it extends to our current "age of AI," he explained that "[w]hen the calculation of equilibrium becomes uncertain, or when nations arrive at fundamentally different calculations of relative power, the risk of conflict through miscalculation reaches its height."
The American recognition of China as a necessary and positive partner against the transformation of the Israel-Hamas War into an experimental battlefield and a new mode of warfare, together with the overall Chinese interests in the Middle East, must bring about the end of the war, followed by the liberation of Gaza from poverty, fundamentalism, and terror.
Kissinger’s last testament
Kissinger left a dramatic testament that still reverberates as the war in the Middle East continues:
"I am convinced that Chinese-American relations depend on an understanding that the two countries have a unique ability to bring peace and progress to the world, and they also have a unique ability to destroy the world, if they are not together. This is a necessity that I see."
ISIS is back on the march
Beware, global jihadists are back on the march. Unfortunately, most people are not aware of this horrifying march. Therefore, one of the aims of this book is to present the extent and impact of global jihadist terrorism, warning the world not to turn a blind eye while jihadists continue to kill, torture, and rape.
Today, there is no doubt that the urgent task of Israel and the rest of the enlightened world is to crush Hamas and bring an end to the devastating war. However, Hamas is only one group among dozens marching under the banner of jihad, and the war against Hamas represents a regional campaign in the wider global war on terror.
Indeed, emanations of terrorism should be eradicated wherever and whenever they are detected. The international community should not postpone this monumental task and could not achieve it by mere defense. Instead, the war on terror should actively uproot terror from its breeding grounds, according to our doctrine on the sinister interrelationship of poverty, fundamentalism, and terror.
Defeating the Devil
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He then assumed the role of matchmaker, leaving the greater part of the divine work for the ministering angels. The Devil does not need God to execute his plans; he works alone, through his human collaborators, whom he recruits by deceiving. This is the "era of the Devil"; Humankind has indeed reached the pinnacle of intellectual growth, allowing us to communicate with machines in human language, but evil and evildoing still exist.
The Devil's primary devices are lies and deceit; with them, he makes his way into innocent, desperate minds. This is not the Devil of the Divine Court, who challenges God in the Book of Job, but something outside Creation, separated from the navel as well as from the human soul - a real evil Devil.
The Devil and his collaborators took advantage of the last generations in Gaza. Poverty, which provides ideal conditions for fundamentalism to flourish, is the primary cause of Gazans' despair.
Fundamentalism propagates the idea that devilish deeds like murder, rape, lying, hatred, and torturing born infidels, are necessary to pave the way to paradise. In the fight for jihad, those who die as martyrs will enter paradise, while those who survive will find protection under Hamas's wing.
To not expect the expected, to not see the prophecy, to not listen, to not hear, to plunge into darkness, days and nights in proximity to hell - this is evildoing. When the senses are obstructed, the Devil acts. The Hamas regime set the stage for the Devil's Dance the moment when the victim's senses were obstructed. Indeed, the Devil patiently devises his plans over time. Sometimes these plans start with a turn to God, grace, and mercy.
That is the case with Hamas, which started as a religious welfare operation, gaining widespread support and paving the way for its success in the local and national elections. From there, Hamas started to gradually consolidate its power, and the same welfare-reliant people who were dependent on Hamas for their breadline - were swept away by those fueled with hate.
Hamas and ISIS – Part of a global Jihadist network
Hamas's catastrophic triumph on October 7, provides evidence that satanic terrorism did not vanish with the elimination of Bin Laden and the weakening of ISIS. There is a crucial reason for that: the allegedly enlightened world is not as enlightened as it thought it was. Ultimately, satanic evil cannot be defeated without the "enlightened" world reaching a consensus regarding its root causes.
Humanity has reached new levels of wealth and almost incomprehensible technological capacity. Yet, the tragedy remains, as concentrations of wealth are scraping the sky but are not utilized to eradicate the hell of poverty and hatred found in the abyss.
Following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, and ISIS' terrorist acts in Iraq and Afghanistan, American scholars ultimately failed to trace terrorism back to its roots and were rather satisfied with the symptomatic solutions they offered.
Recognizing and acknowledging that terrorism grows and feeds off the rot of poverty is a guilty plea attesting to the failure of global wealth to contend with poverty. This is why one cannot ignore the apologetic tone of the doctrine that adheres to psychological, contingent, and other causes of terrorism.
Inequality and deprivation in the Middle East
It is impossible to ignore the fact that both fundamentalism and jihadi terrorism, feed off the wealth disparities in the Middle East, which are worse than in any other region in the world. While about 380 million people live in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Arab Gulf states, and other countries in the region, about 70% of its total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is owned by only 10% of the population.
Qatar is the wealthiest country in the region, with a GDP per capita of more than 110 thousand dollars, which is roughly two times the GDP per capita of Western Europe. It is impossible to ignore how this situation creates a sense of destruction - you shall see the riches in front of your eyes, but you will not have even a small share of it.
I am crying the cry of the hostages in Gaza
Putting the Jews up against the wall in these times while simultaneously accusing them of trying to commit genocide - such a libel, the devil itself could not dream of. In the past, when the Jewish people were persecuted, the United States would get involved only after the Devil's work was almost done.
There is no greater crime than being able to stop the Binding of Isaac and not doing so; not extending a helping hand to the drowning, not giving a piece of bread to the starving, not providing shelter for the freezing, and not stopping the devil's locomotives carrying the trains into the inferno. I have been there, where these crimes happened.
Today, I am crying the cry of the Israeli hostages in Gaza - abandonment is a crime, and being abandoned is horrifying. When the gates are closed and the keys are thrown away, you are dead - still alive but in hell. Hell! Within the very first days of the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. President Joe Biden was quick to offer his unwavering support for Israel's mission to protect itself against the existential threat that Hamas poses and stated that Gaza has to be liberated from Hamas.
As we will demonstrate in this book, for a long time now, Biden has been developing his doctrine, according to which, winning the global war on terrorism depends on economic development and democratization. This doctrine warrants Biden to acknowledge the socio-economic circumstances of Hamas's terrorism and envision its solutions.
Therefore, the U.S. and its president are apt to have a central role in devising a plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza, as well as in uprooting terrorism and guaranteeing regional stability, once the war is over.
Biden, Sharon, Olmert – The socio-economic solution was on the table
During the late period of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's term in office, when the territorial dispute between Israel and Gaza was coming to a close with the approval of the Disengagement Plan, an option was suggested to solve the overall problem of Gaza through rehabilitation and development, and more specifically, to find a solution to the ever-growing refugee camps, in which poverty was concentrated.
Back then, it was Senator Joe Biden who came to visit Prime Minister Sharon in Israel, and it was Biden who delivered a message of political and economic support from the United States, to help advance the disengagement and the socio-economic solution to the problem of Gaza.
In October 2023, following the October 7th attacks, it was U.S. President Joe Biden who came to visit Israel and offer the full support of the United States. From the days he was Senator to when he became president, Biden's "doctrine" regarding the connection between poverty and terrorism has not changed. In this book, we trace Biden's consistent doctrine, according to which defeating terrorism depends on a socio-economic solution.
Terrorism in Gaza – A direct product of poverty
Throughout the last two decades, the Institute for Structural Reforms has been engaging in research and advocacy regarding the interrelationship between poverty, fundamentalism, and terrorism.
The eradication of Hamas and the terrorist regime in Gaza is conditioned by the realization of an alternative future for Gaza, rooted in a structural change to the socio-economic status of most Gazans. The only way to guarantee Israel's security and progress is by "killing the snake in its nest" and by starting a new era without poverty, deceit, and repression.
Our book is the product of long and zealous research conducted through the years, with a clear view of what might happen if poverty is not eradicated. We think that Israel ought to be the birthplace of designated, practical research into the interrelations between poverty, fundamentalism, and terrorism, as this triad still claims many innocent lives and provokes all kinds of violence. It is only right that this doctrine will go forth from Zion.
8 View gallery
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden
(Photo: Itamar Eichner)
Terrorism continues under the banner of Jihad, murdering 145,376 between 2007 and 2023
There are more than thirty-six million refugees in the world, of whom more than twelve million originate from two primarily Muslim countries (Syria and Afghanistan). Some of these Muslim refugees make up the base of support for Islamic fundamentalism in the West, as well as in Arab countries and Africa.
To this day, the Islamic State (ISIS) is still active around the globe, victimizing thousands, while international attention to these atrocities is lacking. Islamic fundamentalism is mainly centered around fostering fanatical and extremist beliefs, imposing harsh punishment on violations of religious norms, the pathological oppression of women, opposition to Western culture as infidel, and rejection of science.
The goal of global Islamic control justifies all means, including murder, torture, and other horrors such as those we have witnessed during the Israel-Hamas War of 2023.
Deaths related to terrorism reached more than 145 thousand between the years 2007 and 2023, for which just a few, mostly jihadist, terrorist organizations are responsible, among them the Islamic State and Hamas. The number of terrorism victims is striking against the backdrop of a global order controlled by "enlightened" countries and international institutions that are dedicated to preserving global security.
Many Muslim refugees who fled from terrorist regimes are standing behind the banner of antisemitism instead of questioning the prevalence of terrorism in the global order.
The Institute for Structural Reforms has focused its research around Gaza, and in 2019 published an academic paper titled "The Political Economy of the Gaza Strip: Poverty, Fundamentalism, Political Violence, and their Resolution".
In this paper we have shown how poverty serves as a breeding ground for fundamentalism and creates an apologetic framework for terrorism. The doctrine regarding the interrelationship of poverty, fundamentalism, and terrorism is a general assertion, proven by blood and tears in the case of Gaza.
An international task force against terrorism worldwide
An international task force should restore, renew, rebuild, and develop Gaza without falling for the illusion of "democracy", at least until the region's spirit has been cleansed from the toxic drug of fundamentalism and until substantial representative democracy is feasible.
It should be noted that most Middle Eastern countries lack a substantial democratic regime. In countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, the very rich have affected and granted the populace some basic mechanisms of a welfare state.
Athenian democracy lived through the mouths of orators. The democracy of the 19th and 20th centuries was susceptible to news propaganda and other one-sided media platforms. Today, propaganda is reaching new heights through social media. Propaganda and some very deliberate "research" aim to downplay the importance of poverty as an incubator for fundamentalism and terrorism.
The reason is very clear: If leaders, politicians, and scholars admit that poverty is the root cause of such evils, they will also have to admit they have some responsibility for aggravating poverty, or at least not doing enough to resolve it. Therefore, propaganda is a cover-up of the real cause of poverty - where it starts, and that has to be resolved.
To conclude, only after a sufficient interim period during which poverty, fundamentalism, and terrorism are eradicated from the minds, lives, and institutions of Gaza, can the liberated people of Gaza speak up.
A mission possible
If you reach heaven, or at least the moon, and gaze down, you will find around the Gaza Strip the most beautiful area: sunshine, a blue sea to the west, a desert to the south, mountains to the east, and springs and waterfalls to the north. However, in reality, from an earthly viewpoint, you will find Gaza to be the poorest, ugliest, and most wretched place.
In its small geographical area of 365 square kilometers, there are over two million people, most of whom live in miserable and life-threatening conditions. Gaza has to be liberated, here and now, from its poverty. In Gaza, the footprint of fundamentalism is everywhere. In the last fifteen years, together with its many collaborators, fundamentalism in Gaza has succeeded in creating a monster.
Book coverYediot BooksThe underground caves of Gaza must become that monster's grave. Its brutality is felt in other places as well, such as in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Therefore, it is in the best interests of Humanity as a whole, to eradicate this monstrosity here and now, with the support of the entire civilized world.
If the Gazan victims of this monster will understand that once the war is won and over, a new era can begin - one in which Gaza can flourish, and its beauty can be restored - they might rise against the terrorist group. Therefore, it is important to establish a plan in advance so that the population of Gaza will understand that a new era can start tomorrow.
Shraga BiranPhoto: Vardi KahanaAfter that, a time will come for statehood for the five million people currently living not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank. This is a dream that cannot be neglected: for it to become a reality, the two great powers of the West and the East need to join forces in the spirit of the old Silk Road, and the Jeffersonian worldview.
Liberating Gaza: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty, Fundamentalism, and Terror by Shraga Biran (with Tal Saar). Yediot Books, 2024.
- Shraga Biran is the founder of one of Israel’s leading law firms and an entrepreneur specializing in energy and international real estate.