Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers shot Palestinians near an Israeli-backed aid site and a U.N. convoy. Both episodes pointed to Israel’s refusal to allow new governance structures to emerge.Over the weekend, there were reports of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinians near an Israeli-backed aid site and a U.N. convoy. These incidents have once again brought attention to Israel’s refusal to allow new governance structures to emerge in Gaza.
For the past year and a half, experts have been warning that Israel’s failure to plan for a power transition in Gaza would lead to chaos, hinder aid delivery, and impede efforts to defeat Hamas. The recent shootings in Gaza, one near the southern border and another at the northern edge, have proven these predictions to be accurate.
On Saturday, Israeli soldiers fired at civilians who were trying to reach food distribution sites run by Israeli-backed private contractors in areas controlled by Israel. The following day, Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians who were rushing to seize aid from a convoy of food trucks sent by the United Nations to areas controlled by Hamas. The Israeli military claims that their soldiers fired “warning shots” to deter those who posed a “threat.”
Supporters of the Israeli-backed aid system have used the incident on Sunday to highlight the failures of the U.N.-led system. On the other hand, those in favor of the U.N. system point to the killings on Saturday as evidence of the failures of Israel’s approach.
Israel argues that it is necessary to place food distribution sites in areas beyond Hamas’s control to prevent both fighters and civilian looters from stealing supplies. However, critics of this approach argue that it forces hungry civilians to cross Israeli military lines, putting them at greater risk.
But the root of the problem lies in Israel’s failure to make detailed plans for a transition of power in Gaza, according to analysts and experts on aid distribution. Both aid systems are temporary solutions to this larger issue. The New York Times reports that Israel’s lack of planning has resulted in a piecemeal approach to aid distribution in Gaza.
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