The idea of dividing Gaza into two zones — an eastern sector under Israeli control and a western sector still under Hamas — is no one’s preferred outcome. It’s not clean, just, or permanent.

But after a grueling war, a fragile cease-fire and no credible alternative, it may be the least bad option available. In a conflict defined by the absence of good choices, sometimes the least bad is the only way forward.

At present, Israel controls about 58% of Gaza, mostly in the east, while Hamas remains entrenched in the more densely populated west. The line is not a border, but a cease-fire demarcation born of battlefield realities.

For Israel, the eastern zone provides a crucial security buffer and leverage: Hamas is kept at a distance, cross-border attacks become harder and pressure points rem

See Full Page