The Crisis of the Gaza Strip: A Way Out
United States Policy toward the Gaza Strip
Shira Efron and Ilan Goldenberg
The stated United States goal in its approach to the Palestinian territories is
to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conict in which
the West Bank and Gaza would form two non-contiguous parts of the
future Palestinian state. Toward that end the United States has refrained
from crafting an explicit policy on Gaza. In practice, however, over the
last decade its policies vis-à-vis the West Bank and Gaza have differed
entirely. Since the 2006 Palestinian elections, while working toward a two-
state solution, the United States has been relatively disengaged from Gaza,
seeking to weaken Hamas while strengthening the PA. Of the international
community, the United States is second only to Israel in its tough approach
toward Hamas. This is not only a formal constraint, but one that hinders its
ability to deliver aid to Gaza and have a leading role – and leverage – on
developments in the Strip. This challenge is compounded by the absence
of US ofcial personnel on the ground in Gaza who are not local staff, a
limitation posed before the elections, after three Americans were killed in
an explosion of a diplomatic convoy in 2003.
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Nevertheless, periodical
are-ups and a series of humanitarian crises in recent years have forced
the United States to become more involved in Gaza and adopt a reactive,
and recently a more proactive approach toward the Strip, focusing mostly
on stabilization efforts.
This paper reviews the evolution of US policy toward Gaza following
Israel’s disengagement in 2005. It discusses the effectiveness of the current
US approach toward Gaza, and analyzes the key US interests, leverage, and
limitations that pertain to the Strip. Finally, based on open-source materials and
off the record conversations with former US ofcials across administrations,
experts, and NGO staff working on Gaza, the paper recommends concrete
short and long term policy options for the United States in Gaza.
