Gaza cannot be rebuilt until Palestinians control their own political future
Submitted by
Alaa Tartir
on
Thu, 04/23/2026 - 20:16
As Israel uses reconstruction to impose new colonial conditions on Gaza, Palestinian-led political renewal rather than outside frameworks is the only path to genuine recovery
Palestinians walk past an electoral candidate's list in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on 18 April 2026 (Haseeb Alwazeer/Reuters)
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After Israel and its international backers have destroyed the Gaza Strip over the past 30 months, their primary focus has shifted to shaping the intricate features of the next phase. This effort aims to ensure ultimate dominance and control by imposing macrostructures and conditions for the "day after", entrenching settler-colonial schemes under the guise of a so-called ceasefire and reconstruction.
Instead of accountability and submission to the rule of law, Israel and its supporters continue to impose the logic of coercive force. They show no regard for norms or laws, persisting - and indeed intensifying - their colonial endeavours.
Worse still, many international and regional actors treat Israel as a "partner", a "rightful party", a "controller", a "manager" and a "regulator" of Gaza's reconstruction, rather than punishing and isolating it for the crimes it has committed - from the Nakba to genocide - over the past two years and since its establishment in 1948.
The "normalisation" of crimes and destruction under the cover of "peace-making" will bring neither peace nor justice to anyone. Instead, it provides Israel and its allies with cover to reshape the region as they wish.
Treating Israel as a "normal" state will not only have repercussions for Palestinians, but will extend far beyond them, as we have witnessed repeatedly over the past two years and in developments unfolding since 28 February 2026.
There is nothing normal about extending normalcy to a state that violates international law daily through settler colonialism, apartheid, military occupation, and genocide, perpetuating an ongoing Nakba.
Efforts to manage Gaza's "day after" according to Israeli visions - its new territorial lines, altered geography, and imposed conditions on governance - amount to surrendering to colonial permanence, even when rebranded under different labels.
The 'normalisation' of crimes and destruction under the cover of "peace-making" will bring neither peace nor justice to anyone
Most "day-after" plans seek to confine Palestinian agency and fragment collective identity. This must be resisted.
What happened throughout the Oslo Accords process cannot be repeated after three decades of division. Palestinian political fragmentation is not incidental but a deliberate mechanism of control imposed by the Israeli regime.
Palestinians must therefore engage in a counter-process. They must refuse submission to new colonial conditions, even when these appear less brutal or are packaged through UN resolutions that repackage colonial rule. Four key areas demand urgent attention.
Political renewal
The Oslo Accords framework and its aftermath have weakened the Palestinian political body to dangerous levels, enabling the coloniser to dominate. Rebuilding Palestinian political agency is therefore essential.
This requires tangible steps that strengthen resistance to colonialism and advance freedom. It is neither a luxury nor optional. It is a necessary, pre-emptive step to restore sources of Palestinian strength in confronting deepening colonial power.
Reconstruction is also a pivotal moment to reshape Palestinian political and technical leadership. If not now, when?
A collective leadership model, moving beyond the failed structures of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), could open a path towards self-determination.
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Only when Palestinians can envision and imagine different models and political structures does the process of transforming that vision into reality begin.
At this moment of unprecedented peril, political renewal is a matter of collective survival. Yet those in power remain unwilling to confront it. Political reconstruction is a necessary condition for liberation and cannot be postponed.
It is no longer acceptable for Palestinian dialogue to remain confined to actors lacking legitimacy or representation, or to factions invested in perpetuating division. A comprehensive national dialogue is not optional; it is mandatory, urgent and unavoidable.
Its frameworks, tools and objectives must fundamentally change. The repeated failures of dialogue over the past two decades demonstrate that current models cannot unify Palestinians or coordinate collective action.
Any marginalisation of the role of civil society in shaping the future of Gaza will bring nothing but further weakness, humiliation, fragmentation and disintegration - not only socially, but politically as well.
Civil society demands
The March 2025 call by Palestinian civil society actors laid out a path forward. It prioritised sumud, Palestinian steadfastness, as a powerful mechanism to resist forced displacement.
It urged the formation of a unified Palestinian front to end internal division. It proposed establishing a temporary national mechanism to manage recovery and relief operations in Gaza.
The call demanded the immediate establishment of an elected Palestinian leadership within a democratic framework, alongside a supportive, non-custodial international mechanism to accompany the transformative process. It demanded full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, sanctions and accountability for war criminals.
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Finally, it called for guaranteeing Palestinian sovereignty and the right to self-determination, and for addressing the root causes of the cycle of destruction.
Palestinian ownership must extend beyond reconstruction to include a broader regional vision. Independent Palestinian perspectives, free from subordination to regional and international interests, are urgently needed.
Independent Palestinian perspectives, free from subordination to regional and international interests, are urgently needed
The region is undergoing constant transformation, with shifting alliances and evolving conditions. Palestinians must develop their own reading of these dynamics.
Even if such perspectives hold limited weight in global calculations, they assert a political will to shape the future rather than endure one imposed by others, including the colonial power that dominates them.
The reconstruction process reveals the inseparable link between the human, social and political.
This connection becomes even more pronounced under colonial conditions, particularly when reconstruction efforts aim to "beautify" and "normalise" colonial rule.
Resisting this process is integral to rebuilding sources of strength and power for those living under colonial domination.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
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