Latest / Im Krisenmodus / Gaza War After Nearly Three Years: Why the Peace Plan Is Stalling
Transcript
- 0:00Die Übersetzung von Jans Stimme vom Deutschen ins Englische wurde mit einer KI erstellt.
- 0:06Almost three years after October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza is still not over.
- 0:12There is a peace plan and talks about a new political order for the Gaza Strip,
- 0:16but little of this can be felt on the ground.
- 0:18Attacks are continuing. Many people are living in tents or damaged buildings.
- 0:23The healthcare system is operating under extremely difficult conditions,
- 0:27and for the people there, it remains completely unconstrued.
- 0:30Er ist nicht klar, wie und wo sie leben in der Zukunft.
- 0:33Die Antwort von einem 4-jährigen Kind illustrierts diese Uncertainty.
- 0:37His Vater, Feidi, arbeitet als doctor für Doctors Without Borders in Gaza.
- 0:42On der Morgen unserer Gespräche, er sitzt mit seinem Son und fragt ihn was erinnert.
- 0:48Er sagt mir, ich möchte weit weg. Ich sage ihm, wo du gehst?
- 0:52Er sagt mir, ich brauche einen Safer Platz. Ich brauche nicht zu hören, ein Bombay.
- 0:56Und das ist ein sehr catastrophisches Gefühl von meinem Seite.
- 1:01A 4-jährige Kind, whose greatest wish is simply to live somewhere without the sound of bombs.
- 1:06What does everyday life in Gaza look like today? And why does a lasting end
- 1:10to the war remain so elusive, despite a peace plan and intense international mediation?
- 1:19In Crisis Mode, the podcast from Conflict Zones with Jan Jessen.
- 1:28Hello, I'm Jan Jessen, Head of Politics and a War and Crisis Reporter for the Funker Media Group.
- 1:33Almost three years after October 7th, we're taking a look in this episode at
- 1:37what life is like for people in Gaza today and why the war still has not come to an end.
- 1:43To do that, we speak to three people. Ali, a father from Gaza.
- 1:48Fadi, a doctor working there for Doctors Without Borders.
- 1:51And Jan Busse, a Middle East expert at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich.
- 1:58Ali and Fedi describe what they are experiencing on the ground.
- 2:01Boussi explains why the political implementation of the peace plan,
- 2:05presented by US President Donald Trump almost exactly a year ago,
- 2:08has stalled, and what would have to happen for the current ceasefire to develop
- 2:12into something more lasting.
- 2:14The starting point of this war is October 7, 2023. It is important to remember
- 2:20what happened on that terrible day.
- 2:22Hamas and other armed groups attacked
- 2:24Israel, killing people and taking hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
- 2:28Israel then launched a war against Hamas. The Israeli military carried out a
- 2:32massive offensive across Gaza.
- 2:35Large parts of the coastal territory were destroyed and much of the population
- 2:38was displaced during the course of the war.
- 2:41The humanitarian situation deteriorated dramatically.
- 2:44In September 2025, US President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan
- 2:50for Gaza with his customary grand flourish.
- 2:53Trump described it as one of the greatest days in the history of civilization
- 2:57and held out the prospect of peace for the entire Middle East.
- 3:00The plan includes a ceasefire in Gaza, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian
- 3:06prisoners, the establishment of a civilian administration and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
- 3:12It also calls for Hamas to be disarmed and for Israeli troops to withdraw.
- 3:17But to this day, no lasting political solution has been found.
- 3:21As always when reporting on Gaza, there is an important limitation we need to mention.
- 3:27Independent foreign journalists are still not allowed to enter the Gaza Strip
- 3:31freely and report from there.
- 3:33That is deeply frustrating. It has been the case since the beginning of the war.
- 3:38Journalists from around the world have repeatedly tried to put pressure on the
- 3:41Israeli military and the Israeli government to allow them into Gaza.
- 3:45So far, however, access has not been granted. That means we are speaking to
- 3:50people who live and work there themselves.
- 3:52We cannot independently verify every detail of their accounts.
- 3:56But we cross-check their statements as far as possible against other sources
- 3:59and known developments.
- 4:01One of our interviewees is Ali. That is the name we use to protect his identity.
- 4:06He is a father of several children and comes from Rafa in the southern Gaza Strip.
- 4:11According to his account, he now
- 4:13lives with his family in the ruins of a destroyed school in Khan Yunis.
- 4:17You may already know Ali from previous episodes of this podcast in which we have reported on Gaza.
- 4:22We'll include those episodes in the show notes. Ich bin in Kontakt mit ihm für
- 4:26eine sehr lange Zeit, eigentlich seit dem Anfang der Krieg in Oktober 2023.
- 4:32Ali regelmäßig sende ich voice-messages, berühmte mich über seine Familie,
- 4:37was er persönlich ist, und was es wie in Gaza life in Gaza ist.
- 4:42According to Ali, his family has been displaced more than seven times since
- 4:46the beginning of the war.
- 4:48Their home in Rafa has been destroyed. At times, the family has lived in tents.
- 4:53This is how Ali describes what they have experienced over the course of these
- 4:56almost three years. My family and I have endured,
- 5:09Mein Familie und ich haben in der Zeit terrible ordeal. An unrelenting nightmare.
- 5:14We have suffered the worst imaginable hardship under relentless bombardment
- 5:18from the air, from land and from the sea. Dozens of our neighbours were killed.
- 5:22We endured hunger, fear and repeated displacement. We have been displaced more than seven times.
- 5:28The first time was from our home in Rafa, which was completely destroyed,
- 5:32just like the city of Rafa itself.
- 5:35We lived in tents and were then forced to flee in the middle of the night.
- 5:38We had to leave our belongings behind. Ich bin jetzt in die Ruins des Stuhl.
- 5:52Mehr als sieben Displacements in weniger als drei Jahre. Für die Familie,
- 5:56das bedeutet, dass sie immer wieder aufhören, und hoffen, dass sie dort werden,
- 6:02können. Es ist keine solche Sache als ein permanentes Haus.
- 6:06Meine Frau, während dieser Krieg, zwei Tochter zur Welt, und sie hatten nie genug zu essen.
- 6:14Ich werde diese Nächte nie vergessen, indem sie vor Hunger weinten.
- 6:22Meine Frau, die zwei Däute, die nicht mehr zu essen hatten, und sie nie hatten
- 6:25genug zu essen. Ich werde nie vergessen, dass sie von Hunger wundern.
- 6:29Für Monate, wir waren nur halb ein Stück von einem Laufen per Person, jeden Tag.
- 6:33I watched my eldest son, who was 12 at the time, become so emaciated that he
- 6:37was nothing but skin and bones.
- 6:39I walked more than 7km there and back, putting my life at risk,
- 6:44just to get a handful of food.
- 6:45Many of my colleagues and relatives were killed or wounded. For three years,
- 6:49my children have not been able to go to school.
- 6:52For three years, I have watched my wife wash clothes by hand and cook under these conditions.
- 6:58Wische.
- 7:04Von Hand wisst und kocht.
- 7:08Food supplies have improved in the meantime, that is also a result of the peace
- 7:12plan presented in September last year, and the ceasefire that followed.
- 7:17Border crossings were reopened, and significantly more humanitarian aid has been able to reach Gaza.
- 7:23But Ali's family is still a long way from anything resembling a normal life.
- 7:27There is no regular income, no home of their own, no school for the children,
- 7:32and a healthcare system that is itself struggling with the consequences of the war.
- 7:37Dr. Fahdi Al-Madun experiences the difficulties of medical care firsthand every day.
- 7:43Fahdi was born in Gaza in 1991 and has been working for Doctors Without Borders for around 10 years.
- 7:50He oversees the organisation's medical operations in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip.
- 7:56These include a specialised clinic for burn and trauma injuries,
- 8:00as well as three mobile medical teams.
- 8:02The healthcare system is still functioning. Clinics continue to treat the wounded,
- 8:07where they still exist at all.
- 8:09Doctors and medical staff continue to treat and operate on patients.
- 8:13But Fadi is working under conditions that have little in common with a normal hospital environment.
- 8:18Medical and surgical supplies are in short supply.
- 8:21Many pieces of equipment are broken, while others, according to Fadi,
- 8:25cannot be brought into Gaza from outside.
- 8:28Actually, we have a lot of shortage, a lot of lack of resources.
- 8:32And now we are working with limited resources here in Gaza. A lot of devices
- 8:37cannot be able to bring from outside, like X-Fix.
- 8:41Also, a lot of machine already broken. We are trying to work and support the
- 8:46patient with limited material and resources. Also, we can speak about the medical
- 8:50supply, supplement, and surgical material. All of these items,
- 8:55we can't be able to find in Gaza.
- 8:56What we are doing nowadays and during the 1,000 days of war,
- 9:02we are trying to support the life-saving cases.
- 9:06I remember during the second evacuation of Gaza City in September 2025,
- 9:11we are stuck here 15 days inside the clinic and we are starting to sterile and
- 9:17sterile goes just to support the wounded patients.
- 9:19That means we are trying to support as much as possible with what we have of limited resources.
- 9:27Feidi's team has therefore started sterilizing available dressing materials
- 9:30themselves so they can continue treating the wounded.
- 9:34But the consequences of the war are not limited to people injured by bombs or
- 9:38gunfire. Many families are living in tents or makeshift shelters.
- 9:42There are, of course, no proper kitchens. And that has led to another consequence of the war, Feidi says.
- 9:48His team is treating a particularly high number of children with burns. Feidi explains why.
- 9:54Und in der gleichen Zeit, ich möchte auf die Bär-Investitionen auf den Bär-Investitionen sprechen.
- 10:00In dieser Situation, alle Menschen sind in der Bär-Investitionen,
- 10:03die es in der Bär-Investitionen gibt.
- 10:06Sie versuchen, die Bär-Investitionen in den Bär-Investitionen zu machen,
- 10:10in der Bär-Investitionen gibt.
- 10:12Das bedeutet, dass die Bär-Investitionen für Bär-Investitionen ist.
- 10:17Und das erhöht die Bär-Investitionen von Bär-Investitionen gibt.
- 10:20Für uns und die größte Gruppe von Kindern in 10 Jahren.
- 10:26These children are not injured directly in an attack. They suffer burns while
- 10:30cooking under conditions created by the war.
- 10:33This is something we have also seen repeatedly during our reporting trips to
- 10:36Afghanistan and to refugee camps in Iraq.
- 10:39People are living in extremely precarious conditions.
- 10:42They often have to cook using gas burners, open flames or kerosene stoves.
- 10:48These devices can easily catch fire or tip over and young children can suffer
- 10:52severe burns as a result.
- 10:54Das Problem ist, dass wenn diese Injuries nicht gut behandelt werden,
- 10:58dann kann sie oft zu schmerzen. Das kann schmerzen, dass Kinder nicht mehr können,
- 11:04zu vollen Augen zu öffnen, oder zu schmerzen, oder zu schmerzen.
- 11:09Diese sind die lang-term Konsequenzen von Burn Injuries, die besonders schwierig
- 11:12zu behandeln in Gaza zu behandeln. Es gibt eine Lacken von bestimmten Medikanten,
- 11:16sowie specialist-doktoren, including Plastik-Surgeons.
- 11:21Fadi also describes a mixed picture when it comes to food.
- 11:24While the supply of food has improved, many people have had no regular income for years.
- 11:29And according to Fadi, what is now reaching Gaza is still not enough to provide
- 11:34a balanced diet, something that is particularly important for people who are
- 11:38sick or recovering from injuries.
- 11:40Look, to be honest, the food supply is better than before the recent piece of plan.
- 11:47Aber die Hauptsache ist, dass sie auf die Füße in generell sind,
- 11:51nicht auf die healthy Füße.
- 11:53Man kann sehr gut wissen, dass die Neues für Protein, die Neues für Vitamins,
- 11:58die Neues für die Vegetables, die Vegetables und die Früchte.
- 12:03All diese können nicht sehr gut in Gaza gehen und mit allen Restrictionen.
- 12:08Und gleichzeitig, es ist sehr günstig für die Bevölkerung in Gaza.
- 12:14After the three years of war, most population, lay people, they don't have any
- 12:19work, they don't have any source of money.
- 12:22I can give you some examples. If you would like to go and bring some vegetables
- 12:28like banana, like mango, the one kilo equals 20 dollars.
- 12:54So, according to Faydi and Ali, conditions have improved in some respects,
- 12:59but improvement is a long way from normality.
- 13:02Für viele Menschen, die Frage ist viel mehr fundamental. Was ist der Leben supposed zu sehen, von hier?
- 13:08Fadi sagt, dass viele Menschen mittlerweile haben wenig Energie leften zu denken
- 13:12über die Politik, oder was die Zukunft der Gaza-Futur might look like.
- 13:16Der Fokus ist einfach auf den nächsten Tag. Die Menschen, heute sind sie.
- 13:23Weig. Sie denken nicht über all diese Punkte, because they spend 1,000 days,
- 13:28just go for a walk more than a kilometer to bring one gallon of water to drink their families.
- 13:36They do not think about all of this situation. They just try to solve the daily
- 13:42problems, to bring some food, to bring some water.
- 13:45For many people then, there is barely any energy left in everyday life to think about political plans.
- 13:51And yet those plans will determine whether their living conditions can change at all.
- 13:55Who will control Gaza in the future? Who will provide security?
- 13:59When will reconstruction begin?
- 14:01And ultimately, will there be a political future for the Palestinian people,
- 14:06not only in Gaza, but also in the occupied West Bank?
- 14:10To understand where this process currently stands, I spoke with political scientist
- 14:14and Middle East expert Dr. Jan Busse from the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.
- 14:20Busse divides the peace plan into three phases. In the first phase,
- 14:25the fighting is supposed to end, the hostages are to be released,
- 14:29and humanitarian aid is to be allowed back into Gaza on a large scale.
- 14:33In the second phase, Hamas is to be disarmed. At the same time,
- 14:38Israel is supposed to gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
- 14:42Only in the third phase does the plan turn to the reconstruction of Gaza and
- 14:46to a political path toward Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
- 14:53We have to say that we are still stuck somewhere between Phase 1 and Phase 2.
- 14:57That means we are still a long way from reconstruction.
- 15:01Die humanitarian Situation hat sich verbessert, besonders wenn es zu food supplies
- 15:05ist, aber es ist noch sehr poor, besonders wenn es zu housing und shelter.
- 15:10Die Leute in der Gaza Strip sind noch in den Tents.
- 15:13Das ist eine extrem precarische Situation.
- 15:17Ausbrechen von Krankheit können in diesen Situationen Und vor allem,
- 15:22Sommer und Winter bringen periods of heavy rainfall, die Menschen dort fast
- 15:26komplett exposed zu den Aliments.
- 15:27Wenn sie so schutzlos ausgesetzt sind, Yes, at first glance,
- 15:31that sounds like a fairly clear sequence.
- 15:34The fighting is supposed to end, humanitarian aid is supposed to resume,
- 15:38then Hamas is to give up its weapons, and Israel is to withdraw.
- 15:42But it is precisely at this next step that the dispute begins.
- 15:46And that is why the entire process has stalled.
- 15:50The peace plan was presented in September last year. Since then,
- 15:55comparatively little has happened, especially considering the enormous attention
- 15:59Trump generated when he unveiled it.
- 16:02According to Buse, Hamas has agreed to a roadmap that links its gradual disarmament
- 16:07to an Israeli withdrawal.
- 16:10The Israeli government, however, has so far not agreed to the roadmap.
- 16:17Der Peace Council, mit der backing der US-Administration, hat eine Roadmap für
- 16:22Disarmament, unter welchen Hamas ist zu handeln, all its weapons in stages,
- 16:27während Israel simultaneously withdraws.
- 16:29Was ist remarkable ist, dass Hamas jetzt eigentlich agreed zu diesem Plan ist.
- 16:33Netanyahu, aber nicht. So, once wieder, wir haben eine Situation in der die Prozess ist stalled.
- 16:40Wir sind noch lange weg von und implementieren Phase 2 und daher von einem stag
- 16:45von genuine Reconstruction und einem politischen Zukunft.
- 16:50Das ist aktuell der Stand. Das ist jetzt der Stand.
- 16:55Hamas' Agreement zu der Roadmap, however, nicht so dass es eigentlich bereit
- 16:59ist, um die Weapons zu handeln. Es ist eine Roadmap, aber die Implementation
- 17:03ist zu bestimmten Regeln.
- 17:05Wir sollten nicht vergessen, dass die Arm-Struggle ist, in a sense,
- 17:09part of Hamas' DNA, the armed fight against Israel, along with the anti-Semitism,
- 17:15anti-Zionism and rejection of Israel embedded in the organisation's ideology.
- 17:21So, naturally, Hamas finds it difficult to give up its weapons.
- 17:25Surrendering weapons also means surrendering power.
- 17:28And for an organisation that has ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron grip for
- 17:32years, that is obviously a difficult step to take.
- 17:36Hamas has also made its own disarmament und conditional on one crucial demand, an Israeli withdrawal.
- 17:42And that brings us to the next major sticking point. Why is Israel not withdrawing?
- 17:47And why has the Israeli government so far refused to agree to such a step?
- 17:52One apparent reason lies in Israeli domestic politics. Prime Minister Benjamin
- 17:57Netanyahu is under pressure from parties and voters to his right,
- 18:00who oppose far-reaching concessions to the Palestinians.
- 18:09There are elections in Israel in October, and Netanyahu will obviously do everything
- 18:13he can to avoid making concessions, now that could be portrayed as a sign of
- 18:18weakness by parties further to the right or by his own voter base.
- 18:22Und in diesem Fall, es ist wichtig, dass Netanyahu hat klar,
- 18:26dass er will, dass er die Prospekt des Palästinien-State ist.
- 18:30Ultimately, das ist ein Counter, both zu Israel's international commitments,
- 18:34und zu der Idee behind last Jahr's Peace Plan, das deliberately sought zu halten, such a Prospekt.
- 18:39Aber ich glaube, dass wir nicht die Wahrheit, dass da wirklich eine historicere Chance ist hier ist.
- 18:44Hamas hat gesagt, dass sie sich nicht verraten. Ich denke, das wäre unheimlich,
- 18:51ein Jahr ago. Denn der sogenannte Bewerbende Kampf ist ein definierendes Merkmal für die Hamas.
- 18:58So Buse sieht dies als eine historische Möglichkeit, aber eine,
- 19:02die noch nicht in die Praxis gelegt wird.
- 19:04Agreeing to a road map does not mean that Hamas is already handing over its weapons.
- 19:09The other side of the agreement, Israel's phased withdrawal,
- 19:12remains unresolved as well.
- 19:16Alongside this disarmament, there
- 19:17is also supposed to be a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
- 19:22And that is where we run into the next major problem.
- 19:25For one thing, Israel has expanded the area under its control from the original
- 19:29figure of more than 50% of the Gaza Strip to around 70%.
- 19:34Und Netanyahu hat klargestellt, dass Israel nicht zu verlassen ist,
- 19:38so es nicht nur dass es keinen Ende zu der Kampf auf der Israelite ist.
- 19:42In der Moment gibt es auch keine Willenheit, zu abide by die Agreementen,
- 19:45auf Phase 2, und zu verlassen von den Gaza Strip.
- 19:48Und ich denke, hierher zu werden, wenn es die USA aus den USA kommt.
- 19:56Für die Planung ist das eine cruciale Problem. Hamas' disarmament und Israel's
- 20:01withdrawal sind direkt links.
- 20:03If Hamas is expected to give up its weapons while Israel continues to maintain
- 20:07military control over large parts of the Gaza Strip, the proposed second phase
- 20:11will be extremely difficult to implement.
- 20:13That is why attention is also turning to Washington.
- 20:16The problem is that Trump is a president who wants quick results.
- 20:20When he announces something, he essentially expects it to be implemented the next day.
- 20:24He finds it relatively difficult to take a long-term approach.
- 20:27He is not a fan of lengthy, drawn-out negotiations.
- 20:30In the meantime, he has also turned his attention to completely different conflicts,
- 20:35the war with Iran, for example, and now he has once again sent envoys to Ukraine to try to broker peace.
- 20:41Gaza seems to have slipped somewhat out of focus for him, and when something
- 20:45slips out of Trump's focus, it naturally tends to slip out of the focus of his
- 20:49administration as well.
- 20:51Busse nevertheless considers continued US pressure to be crucial.
- 20:55In his view, Washington can change the political cost-benefit calculations of
- 20:59both the Israeli government and Hamas.
- 21:02Without external pressure, he says, little is likely to change.
- 21:06Israel is closely tied to the United States militarily, diplomatically and politically.
- 21:12The US government therefore has considerable leverage over the Israeli government,
- 21:16considerably more, of course, than European countries, including Germany, do.
- 21:20There is, however, another factor that could prove important.
- 21:23Israel has been seeking to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia for years.
- 21:28Busse argues that this goal cannot ultimately be separated from the Palestinian question either.
- 21:42Israel has a very strong interest in normalising diplomatic relations with Saudi
- 21:46Arabia, und das sollte wirklich viel mehr front und center sein.
- 21:50Die einzige Weg, um das zu erreichen, ist, einen genüllen politischen Weg zu
- 21:54palästinischen Selbstdetermination und Statehut.
- 21:57Man könnte sagen, dass die Weg nach Riyadh durch Gaza geht. Das sollte nicht
- 22:01unterestimiert werden.
- 22:01... potenziellen anderen Regierungen, die ohne Netanjahu auskommen,
- 22:05weil wir einfach noch nicht wissen, wie die Wahlen ausgehen,
- 22:07dass das eben dieser Weg nach Riyadh, der führt über Gaza, könnte man eigentlich
- 22:11sagen. Und das sollte eben nicht unterschätzt werden.
- 22:14The normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia that Israel is seeking could
- 22:18therefore become a political lever for pushing for concrete progress for the Palestinians.
- 22:23But even if Hamas is disarmed and Israel gradually withdraws,
- 22:27another crucial question remains.
- 22:29Who will govern Gaza afterward? Who will provide security? Who will run schools,
- 22:34hospitals and public services?
- 22:36And who will prevent a power vacuum from emerging once the fighting ends?
- 22:41The peace plan provides for a Palestinian transitional administration to take
- 22:44on these responsibilities.
- 22:46According to Buse, this body has already been established. The Israeli government,
- 22:51however, has so far not allowed it to begin operating in Gaza.
- 22:55As far as Buse knows, members of the proposed transitional administration are
- 22:59currently in places including Cairo, waiting for access to the Gaza Strip.
- 23:04Such an administration also needs security forces. Buse cautions against automatically
- 23:09labeling everyone who worked as a civilian police officer under Hamas as a combatant.
- 23:14Parts of the existing civilian police force could potentially continue working
- 23:18after individual vetting.
- 23:20The key question would be, who was involved in fighting or other acts of violence?
- 23:26According to Basse, Jordan and Egypt have already trained Palestinian police officers.
- 23:31The EU could also contribute its experience through its police mission in the West Bank.
- 23:36The peace plan also calls for an international stabilisation force to provide security in Gaza.
- 23:41So far, however, only a small number of countries have committed to taking part.
- 23:46As a result, there is still not enough personnel. The new administration then
- 23:51would not necessarily have to start entirely from scratch.
- 23:54Existing administrative structures
- 23:56include professionals who may have no direct connection to Hamas.
- 24:00But a new administration could only function if the fighting ends,
- 24:04political responsibilities are clearly defined, and Israel actually begins its phased withdrawal.
- 24:09Yet even a functioning administration in Gaza would not resolve the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- 24:16Politically, Gaza cannot be permanently separated from the West Bank.
- 24:21If there is ultimately to be a path toward Palestinian self-determination,
- 24:25something like a two-state solution, rebuilding Gaza alone will not be enough.
- 24:31The situation in the West Bank is also deteriorating. As you may know,
- 24:36the West Bank is effectively a patchwork divided into Areas A, B and C.
- 24:41Areas A are formerly under Palestinian civil and security control.
- 24:46In Areas B, Palestinians are responsible for civil administration,
- 24:50while security responsibilities are shared.
- 24:52Area C remains under Israeli control.
- 24:55On a map, the West Bank resembles a patchwork quilt. At the same time,
- 25:00Israel continues to expand its settlements.
- 25:03They are considered illegal under international law by the prevailing view of
- 25:07the international community.
- 25:09This is compounded by violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians.
- 25:15One particularly controversial development concerns the E1 area east of Jerusalem.
- 25:20Further construction there, many critics warn, would fragment the West Bank
- 25:24even further and make it significantly more difficult to maintain a territorial
- 25:28connection between its northern and southern parts.
- 25:31Jan Basser, however, says the deterioration in the West Bank goes far beyond E1.
- 25:42At least for now, the conditions could hardly be worse. And I think that if
- 25:45we look at the West Bank, we are seeing a dramatic escalation there as well,
- 25:49one that goes far beyond the example of E1, we are seeing settler violence on
- 25:54an unprecedented scale.
- 25:56There are essentially daily attacks on the Palestinian civilian population.
- 26:00Militant settlers are moving into the so-called Area A, places where they had
- 26:04never previously ventured, and are trying to bring houses there under their control.
- 26:09Settlement construction is at a level we have not seen since the beginning of
- 26:12the Oslo peace process in 1993, and the far-right members of the Israeli government
- 26:18openly boast about the fact that they want to bury any political prospect for the Palestinians.
- 26:27If settlement expansion and settler violence continue to undermine the territorial
- 26:32foundations of a possible Palestinian state, rebuilding Gaza alone will not
- 26:37be enough to achieve a lasting solution.
- 26:39The prospect of a contiguous and politically viable Palestinian state is becoming
- 26:44increasingly difficult to imagine.
- 26:46That is the broader political context. For Ali, however, the question of a political
- 26:52future has long since become a deeply personal one.
- 26:55Can he still give his children a future in Gaza?
- 27:04A war that has destroyed everything we had, even our health and our future.
- 27:08What did we do to deserve this?
- 27:10What did my wife and my young children do to deserve this? Let Israel take my
- 27:13land then. Just let me build a future for my children somewhere outside this place.
- 27:18Lass Israel doch mein Land nehmen und mir erlauben meinen Kindern außerhalb
- 27:24dieses Ortes eine Zukunft aufzubauen.
- 27:28Ali ist nicht proposing a political plan hier, nor ist he endorsing the idea of displacement.
- 27:34As you may know, some Israeli politicians have floated the idea of removing
- 27:38all 2 million people living in Gaza from the Strip, evacuating them and resettling
- 27:43them in other countries.
- 27:44Such a move would be a catastrophic violation von international law,
- 27:48und es wird sicherlich verletzt Israel's standing in der Welt.
- 27:52Und yet Defense Minister Israel Katz hat nur recently gesagt,
- 27:56dass die Idee nicht fully abandone.
- 27:58Ali's words, however, show just how deeply his faith in a future inside Gaza hat eroded.
- 28:04Und Feidi, our doctor, sagt, dass viele Menschen nicht mehr wissen was für die Kinder in Gaza.
- 28:11Und wenn man sich über die Zukunft und deine Kinder und deine Kinder keine Schulen,
- 28:17keine gute Hospen, keine Safer Pläne zu bleiben, keine Renovation.
- 28:22Ein paar Familien waren drei und vier floors, und jetzt bleiben sie in den Städten.
- 28:31Sie haben viele Fragen, warum wir in dieser Land bleiben, wenn wir nicht alle diese Punkte haben.
- 28:38So, ultimately, this is not just about whether the war ends.
- 28:41It is about whether afterward a life can be rebuilt that people actually want to stay for.
- 28:46A life with schools, hospitals, security, a home and a political future.
- 28:52That is why, at the end of our conversation, I asked Jan Busser what he would
- 28:57say to someone in Gaza who wants to know, will things be better next year?
- 29:03I hope that will be the case, but we simply cannot be sure of it.
- 29:06At the moment, we have very good reason to be pessimistic.
- 29:08And we have to look at what can actually be done, even if only through small
- 29:11adjustments, to at least prevent the worst from happening.
- 29:14Of course, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip needs to continue improving.
- 29:18But those are not good prospects if we are really only talking about such minimal changes.
- 29:25I find that a deeply sobering answer. Almost three years after October 7th,
- 29:30Gaza is still a long way from anything resembling normal life.
- 29:34A peace plan is on the table. According to Buse, Hamas has agreed to a road
- 29:38map that provides for its gradual disarmament.
- 29:41At the same time, Israel is supposed to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
- 29:45A third phase is supposed to bring reconstruction and a path toward Palestinian self-determination.
- 29:51But enormous political and military obstacles stand between these steps.
- 29:55The fighting has still not fully ended.
- 29:57Israel's withdrawal remains unresolved. A new administration has yet to be allowed to begin its work.
- 30:03Und ein politischer Weg zur Palästinian-State-Hood still appears to be a distant prospect.
- 30:09Und ich denke, es ist wichtig, dass wir immer darüber sprechen,
- 30:12weil die Verantwortung auch mit Ländern, die nicht die gleiche Leistung auf
- 30:17Israel als die USA haben.
- 30:18Es ist auch die Verantwortung von Ländern wie Deutschland und anderen Europäischen
- 30:23Ländern zu geben, und zu machen, dass, als Partner und Freund,
- 30:28wir expecten Israel zu nehmen die notwendige Schritte to improve the lives of people in Gaza,
- 30:33and to enable Palestinians to live with dignity and exercise self-determination.
- 30:38Für Menschen wie Ali und Fahdi, all of das bedeutet, dass sie noch nicht wissen,
- 30:43wie lange ihre Familien werden müssen, ohne safe Homes, funktionierende Schulen
- 30:48und Medikamenten zu leben.
- 30:50Die Planung desgrüßt eine mögliche Zukunft. Aber so far, das Zukunft hat noch
- 30:54nicht zu erreichen, dass die Welt der Menschen in den ganzen Leben leben.
- 30:58Dieser Podcast wurde von Alexander Baumeister. Er ist auch ein Journalist und
- 31:02arbeitet für eine radio-station in der Funker Media Group.
- 31:05If you enjoyed this episode, please like and follow us. It helps make our work
- 31:10more visible, and we'd love to hear from you.
- 31:12What needs to happen for a peace plan to become a tangible future for people like Ali and Fadi?
- 31:18Send us your questions, criticism, and suggestions for future topics at christenmodus.funcomedian.de.
- 31:26Take care of yourselves. See you next time. Bye-bye.