I am a believer that a nation has every right to defend themselves. If they are attacked, they deserve to retaliate in what way they feel is necessary to ensure that it does not happen again in the future. We did it in World War II and then again in the invasion of Afghanistan. I spent some time looking at what happened between Israel and Gaza after the conflict ended and I tried to figure out why things went so astray. I came up with a very simple conclusion as to what went wrong. More importantly, I came up with a plan that, if implemented, might really allow for the much needed peace. Here are the things I’d implement to make peace:

• Israel needs to stop with their full fledged invasions. If they are going to consider Gaza its own, sovereign nation, then it is important not to invade every single time there are rockets launched into Israel. That is not to say that they cannot defend, but they cannot do full-fledged invasions.
• Gaza needs to elect a safer government. Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization by numerous governments and so long as a terrorist organization is the controlling party, Gaza will not get the necessary respect they deserve. The next election, it is important to elect a safer party to push Gaza towards security.
• Both parties need to stop with their constant attacks on each other. This is the hardest step. If Gaza launches rockets, Israel is going to launch attacks back. There is constant hate that brews in the area because everyone has lost brothers, fathers, sons, daughters, mothers, and sisters. If there is to be peace, there cannot be this constant sense of retaliation.
• Instead of focusing on war, instead, try an economic route. Start trading amongst each others. There is nothing more beneficial to a country than having strong trade routes. If Gaza and Israel are seen to have a tremendously strong trade relationship, what the rest of the world will see is that they are working on creating a strong peace amongst themselves. This will then allow other neighboring countries to gain respect for both.

It is obvious that there is much hate in the Middle East. However, when looking at the desire by a lot of young Israelis and Palestinians to have peace, perhaps now is the time to start working towards peace rather than always retaliating to attacks with more violence. If the leaders and people of these two countries can work together, there can be the much desired peace. And with peace, perhaps both nations that thrive and grow.

This is not a set in stone plan. There are obviously ways to screw it up royally; however, if both parties want it, it could happen. I may not be an expert in foreign policy and I may not know everything there is to know about the world, but I can watch and see how Gandhi was able to gain independence for India through acts of peace. The same can happen here. Gaza and Israel can both gain what they want with peace. It’s not easy, but it is definitely possible.