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Yair Lapid: Israel's Hostages in Gaza Are the Most Urgent Mission

The Israeli government is in a tailspin. It doesn't have a policy that anyone understands; it has no vision. If you don't believe me because I'm the head of the opposition, go ask someone else: the residents of the north, the residents of the Gaza border communities, the families of the hostages, the heads of the defense establishment, the Americans, the reservists.

There are eight things we must do differently:

1. Reach a hostage deal. This is our most urgent mission. It's a difficult decision, but the time has come to make it. The government must take the decision to bring the hostages home, even if it means the end of the war in Gaza. Israel isn't conducting a war there right now anyway, and the current state of treading water doesn't work in our favor. We can return to Rafah at a later date. Now we must do everything we can to bring the hostages back home.

2. Increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. The government had two choices: One was to swamp Gaza with aid to alleviate international pressure on us, a decision that is also consistent with our values as a democratic state. Two was to prevent aid from reaching Gaza to create leverage on Hamas with regard to the hostages – it wouldn't have worked, but at least it would have been a political choice. Instead, the government opted for a third choice, the worst one possible: It sent too little aid into Gaza and tried to hide this so as not to upset Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. This not only created anger across the world, but also strengthened Hamas. When there isn't enough aid, Hamas gains a lever of control over Gaza's civilian population. Israel has a clear and unequivocal interest in making sure there is no hunger in Gaza and no shortage of essential goods.

3. Reach an agreement with the Egyptians over the Philadelphi route and the Rafah crossing. For Israel to be able to operate in Rafah in the future, it has to reach an agreement with Egypt regarding this corridor and the operation of the Rafah crossing into Egypt. If we have no control over all entry points into the Gaza Strip above and below ground, Hamas will be able to rebuild its power, or simply flee every time the Israel Defense Forces draws near. The Egyptians are willing to cooperate, but they are interested in the Palestinian Authority taking over part of the operation of the Rafah crossing, as was the case until 2017.

4. Set a date for the return of those evacuated from the norther border. The government cannot relinquish an entire area, fertile and beautiful, only because it has no policy. It must announce that on September 1, the school year will start as usual in the northern border communities. It's preferable if that happens due to a diplomatic deal leading to Hezbollah withdrawing to a distance outside the range of its anti-tank missiles (about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles), but if that doesn't work peacefully, it should be achieved using force. Israeli citizens cannot be exiles in their own land.

5. Present a plan for the "day after" the war. The government must start discussing the post-war period with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Americans and yes, with the Palestinian Authority. The PA will not take part in the security arrangements in the Gaza Strip, only in its civil administration. After all, this model already exists, and it works. The fully-right-wing government is tightly cooperating with the Palestinians in security, economic and civil matters across the West Bank. There is no reason not do the same in Gaza.

6. Israel must tell the Saudis and the Americans that it doesn't dismiss the option of separating from the Palestinians. No one is asking us to set up a Palestinian state tomorrow, or to yield one clod of earth. The whole world is asking us to say that if the Palestinians prove to us that they're as docile as the Swiss, as peace-loving as the Dutch, or calm as the Australians, we'll be ready to consider parting ways from them. This is a process that will take years, and the burden of proof will be on them.

The reward for this symbolic expression of willingness will be a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia, the creation of a regional anti-Iranian alliance, the development of the Abraham Accords and an end to the diplomatic isolation which is closing in on us. The fact that we're refusing to say this out of concern that it will make Ben-Gvir angry is madness.

7. Change our entire foreign policy and the perception of hasbara and public diplomacy. Stop going head-to-head with the Biden administration for show. Strengthen our ties with liberal U.S. Jews. Support Ukraine with no reservations. Stop boycotting countries that criticize us. Concentrate the hasbarah system at the Foreign Ministry (instead of the five different government offices charged with it today). Form a task force that will address the events in U.S. campuses. Respond immediately, as we have done in the past.

8. Set up a different government. A government without extremists, one that is decent, good, and effective. A government without a failing, destructive leader who is responsible for the worst disaster that befell us, one who doesn't cease to incite against his own citizens. A government without the harmful structure of two cabinets that fight each other. A government that will restore deterrence and establish a military alliance against Iran's nuclear threat, which was and remains the main challenge we face.

A government that will rebuild the Gaza border communities, set up a national commission of inquiry to investigate the events of October 7, foster Israel's foreign relations and bolster its alliance with the Americans. It won't be afraid to draft ultra-Orthodox men and will provide security for its citizens, strengthen state-run schools and higher education, act to lower the cost of living and help the middle class. There's a word that describes a government like that: a government of hope.

Yair Lapid