Long-Term Peace in Gaza Requires Addressing the Core Issue of Land Ownership
The Israeli/ Palestine issue has claimed many lives and wasted an inestimable amount of money and resources and in reaching a workable and lasting resolution which would entail satisfaction on both sides, a radical, creative, novel and innovative approach has to be considered, agreed on and implemented.
While the Arab nations’ Gaza redevelopment plan presents a hopeful path toward reconstruction, it risks failing to achieve lasting peace if the fundamental issue of land ownership is left unresolved. The plan, though promising, overlooks the deep-rooted territorial disputes that have fueled the conflict for decades. Both Israelis and Palestinians lay claim to the same land, and without addressing this core issue, any peace agreement will only be temporary, this is the main reason why most of the previous solutions suggested has not been agreed on and implemented by all parties concerned.
The reality is clear: unless both sides are provided with additional land that doesn’t require them to abandon their current territories, the conflict will likely reemerge in future generations. This could be achieved through an innovative solution, such as creating a “bonus land” that both sides can claim, which would be allocated based on population size and existing landholdings. One possible avenue for this could involve dredging parts of the Mediterranean to create new land, which would be divided proportionally between the two parties, although environmentalist would be ill disposd towards such a line of action, it should be a non contestable avenue in resolving the war especially given the high tolls already suffered due to the existing situation.
For such a proposal to succeed, it would require significant international support—both financial and logistical—to make it viable. Without addressing the issue of land in a way that is acceptable to both sides, any ceasefire or reconstruction effort is bound to be fragile.
The failure to confront this key issue head-on only delays the prospect of a permanent solution. The Gaza conflict is not merely a matter of politics or religion; it is an existential struggle over territory. Until this is resolved, peace in the region will remain elusive.
