Gaza’s fault lines are less linear than meets the eye

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Like much else in the Middle East, Gaza’s fault lines are less linear than meets the eye.

At first glance, it’s Israel, backed by the United States, against the rest of the world.

This week’s United Nations Security Council debate spotlighted that divide, with US Interim Ambassador Dorothy Shea as the only representative to accuse Hamas rather than Israel of breaking the ceasefire, reigniting hostilities, and worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Similarly, Israel and the United States stand alone at first glance in supporting President Donald J. Trump’s vision of Gaza as a high-end beachfront real estate development void of much of its indigenous population.

The rest of the international community supports the Arab world’s alternative plan that calls for an end to the war, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the creation of a Palestinian interim administration of the Strip, and the temporary resettlement of Gazans in safe zones in Gaza while the war-ravaged territory is reconstructed to the tune of US$53 billion.

So far, it all seems straightforward. But dig a little deeper, and the fault lines begin to blur.