Jackson Lennock
Well-known member
What if Egypt had gotten Gaza back at Camp David along with the Sinai?
My understanding is that the Egyptians didn't care much about it. The Israelis also tried to broker an exchange - Egypt getting Gaza and Israel keeping Yamit - but Egypt was plainly uninterested. Maybe a return of Gaza for Egypt agreeing that Taba is Israeli? The Egyptians threw a big fuss over Taba OTL so I don't think they'd want to give that up either.
Technically, Gaza is being annexed and not returned since Egypt previously claimed Gaza was an allied Palestinian State (see here and here) under the aegis of the United Arab Republic.
Depending on what Egyptian policy is, it might lighten the congestion in Gaza if the sprawl can extend into North Sinai (Egyptian Rafah and El Arish mainly).
The Israeli settlers who went there OTL probably end up someplace else. Several settlers from Yamit were relocated to Gaza OTL, so they'll end up someplace else too. Maybe the Negev or maybe the Southern West Bank. OTL Sharon pulled out about 9,000 settlers from Gaza.
The Israelis would be able to direct more resources towards governing/occupying/pacifying the West Bank. But Sharon might also be able to dismantle more settlements if that still happens like OTL. The Gaza withdrawal gets a lot of attention, but Sharon dismantled settlements in the northern West Bank as well (Kadim. Ganim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur) in what might have been the first step of a bigger withdrawal from portions of the West Bank (I'm skeptical he'd have withdrawn from everything east of the Wall he built).
Without the Palestinian Civil War or Gaza as a Hamas refuge, the Israeli right wouldn't be able to point at Hamas as an obstacle to peace.
My understanding is that the Egyptians didn't care much about it. The Israelis also tried to broker an exchange - Egypt getting Gaza and Israel keeping Yamit - but Egypt was plainly uninterested. Maybe a return of Gaza for Egypt agreeing that Taba is Israeli? The Egyptians threw a big fuss over Taba OTL so I don't think they'd want to give that up either.
Technically, Gaza is being annexed and not returned since Egypt previously claimed Gaza was an allied Palestinian State (see here and here) under the aegis of the United Arab Republic.
Depending on what Egyptian policy is, it might lighten the congestion in Gaza if the sprawl can extend into North Sinai (Egyptian Rafah and El Arish mainly).
The Israeli settlers who went there OTL probably end up someplace else. Several settlers from Yamit were relocated to Gaza OTL, so they'll end up someplace else too. Maybe the Negev or maybe the Southern West Bank. OTL Sharon pulled out about 9,000 settlers from Gaza.
The Israelis would be able to direct more resources towards governing/occupying/pacifying the West Bank. But Sharon might also be able to dismantle more settlements if that still happens like OTL. The Gaza withdrawal gets a lot of attention, but Sharon dismantled settlements in the northern West Bank as well (Kadim. Ganim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur) in what might have been the first step of a bigger withdrawal from portions of the West Bank (I'm skeptical he'd have withdrawn from everything east of the Wall he built).
Without the Palestinian Civil War or Gaza as a Hamas refuge, the Israeli right wouldn't be able to point at Hamas as an obstacle to peace.