Dear Editor,

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the forced expulsion of every Jewish soul — living and dead — from the Gaza Strip, a tragic chapter in Israel’s history that reveals the profound consequences of misguided policies and empty promises.

On the 10th of Av, 2005, under immense international pressure, Israel withdrew its Jewish community and military presence from Gaza, surrendering what many believed to be a strategic and moral imperative. The promise was land for peace, a two-State solution that would see coexistence and prosperity flourish side by side. Yet what emerged was a brutal Islamist totalitarian State committed to martyrdom, jihad, and the obliteration of Israel.

The aftermath of the disengagement was heartbreaking. Synagogues, greenhouses, and homes — abandoned and often burnt — became symbols of betrayal and loss. The Jewish residents who were evicted knew well that land for peace was a false promise; it only paved the way for terror, not tranquility.

Today, the international community must confront the irony that, despite claims of an Israeli occupation of Gaza, the reality is quite different. Israel has not occupied Gaza since 2005. It withdrew unilaterally, only to witness Hamas and other terrorist entities turn the territory into a launching pad for violence and regional instability.

Fast-forward to the horrors of October 7, when the barbarity inflicted on innocent Israeli civilians — many of whom are now hostages — shattered any illusions of peace. The videos released by Hamas this week — of starving, terrified hostages, such as Evyatar David reading Hamas scripts and digging their own graves — are a stark reminder of the savage cruelty that emanates from Gaza. These images did not make headline news globally, yet they are the true face of what the so-called Palestinian cause has become: a romanticised myth rooted in terror, Jew-hatred, and the export of violence to the world’s universities and streets.

In response to this unthinkable aggression, the decision to reoccupy Gaza stands as the only viable path forward to ensure Israel’s security and dismantle the infrastructure of terror that has flourished there. This is not a matter of conquest, but self-preservation and the urgent need to restore stability.

Sovereignty exercised with resolve, combined with a comprehensive effort to deradicalise the Palestinian population, offers realistic hope for a future in which peace is possible. Not through the establishment of a Palestinian state built on hatred and violence, but through Israeli sovereignty that ensures security and the gradual transformation of Palestinian society away from extremism.

It is crucial that the international community recognises its role in enabling this catastrophe. The misguided policies that have perpetuated the cycle of violence in Gaza must be held to account. The tragic consequences — endless suffering, loss of life, and the ongoing hostage crisis — are a direct result of neglect and the refusal to confront the realities on the ground.

Today, I join the call for unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and accountability from those who fostered and enabled this chaos. Only through realistic action and acknowledgement of the truth can we hope to forge a future rooted in genuine peace, security, and repudiation of terror.

Jillian Forbes

jillianforbes21@gmail.com