It’s useless to say rebuild Gaza if that means rebuilding Hamas

Alexander Downer is correct in pointing out that Donald Trump’s Gaza plan requires more thought and negotiation but the US President “deserves praise for having the courage to talk about a completely new approach to the Middle East peace process” (“Why Trump is on the right track with Gaza plan”, 10/2).

Trump’s intense focus on what’s required to rebuild Gaza is helpful. The proposal should serve to focus the international community on the sort of funding, commitment and security mechanisms that would enable the Israel Defence Forces withdrawal that will be required. Hamas has taken huge losses but it has enough fighters to wage irregular warfare in the Gaza Strip, conducted in civilian clothing and not the pantomime gear on display in the hostage handovers. It’s useless to just say rebuild Gaza if that means rebuilding Hamas. We wouldn’t have rebuilt Berlin after the war without destroying the Nazis.

Downer is also right to say Iran must know now that its attempts to destroy Israel by using proxies are over. On Saturday a three-man Hamas delegation met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran for the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and to thank Iran for its support. They were told by Khamenei: “You defeated the Zionist regime, which was in fact America’s defeat.” But the reality is that Iran isn’t going to continue to pay the billions it has invested in Hamas that supported its smuggling operations. Those resources won’t be replaced by the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates or Qatar.

Anthony Bergin, Reid, ACT

Alexander Downer brought a needed fresh angle to Donald Trump’s latest thought bubble regarding the Middle East.

While many will naturally dismiss the President’s aspirations regarding Gaza as bellicose bluster, one needs to remember that there was a time in the mid-20th century when Beirut was called the Paris of the Middle East. French architecture, dining and desired holiday destinations were once ubiquitous in the Lebanese capital until the civil war turned the city into an other-worldly grey crater that Gaza now resembles. There is no reason the embattled seaside strip of land could not effectively become another Singapore or Dubai.

Alas, there are two mitigating considerations. First, since childhood, the people of this region have been taught to desire the destruction of the Jews. When grievance is your default modus operandi, civil progress is impossible. Second, Gaza essentially has existed as a welfare state for the past three-quarters of a century. What money does come in is used to build tunnels for smuggling weapons and to train citizens for a permanent state of struggle against the children of Abraham.

Trump has mastered the art of the deal, so it may be possible, but the question is whether the Gazan people themselves actually can imagine a world not built upon wrath.

Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn, Vic

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer claims Donald Trump’s proposed strategy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict marks a necessary and innovative departure from past, ineffective peace efforts. For decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations believed the Israel-Palestine conflict could be resolved only through the creation of a Palestinian state. This approach endured despite the Palestinian Arabs’ repeated rejection of statehood offers in 1937, 1948, 2000, 2001 and 2008. Most concerning, it continued despite their unwillingness to commit to a lasting peace with Israel. While Trump’s proposal should not be taken at face value, it disrupts the status quo and introduces a fresh dynamic to the negotiating table.

John Kempler, Rose Bay, NSW

Alexander Downer’s well-informed assessment of Donald Trump’s suggestion for the rebuilding of Gaza is a welcome balance to the anti-Trump hysteria that has emanated from most of the media. Downer’s long experience as foreign minister security mechanisms gives him impeccable credentials to claim a two-state solution is not a reality for Hamas or Israel.

As Downer says, the only solution that will work for resolving the Gaza conflict must come from the countries of the region.

Trump’s out-of-left-field proposal appeals to a common sense view for Gaza’s future, and he of all world leaders has a friendship with the leaders of Arab countries of the region that could make it happen.

John Bell, Heidelberg Heights, Vic