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Gaza cannot wait for a miracle

The crisis in Gaza leaves no time to dream of grandiose solutions, such as an artificial island or desalination plants, and only immediately allowing thousands of Gazans to work in Israel can alleviate the pressure.
A Palestinian woman sits outside her house as she escapes the heat during a power cut at Shatti (beach) refugee camp in Gaza City September 15, 2015. Power has been provided to different areas in the impoverished coastal territory in six-hour shifts as Gaza's lone power plant shut its generators on Saturday due to a fuel shortage, energy officials said. Electricity is also supplied to the Gaza grid through power lines from Israel and Egypt. Gaza's plant provides electricity to two-thirds of its population.
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We could wake up one morning soon and be pleasantly surprised to hear that a comprehensive agreement has been reached to save the Gaza Strip. Perhaps a reconciliation will be reached between Fatah and Hamas. Maybe the various global donors will increase their contributions. Gaza's schools may even open their doors for the coming school year and the teachers laid off by UNRWA for lack of funds could return to work. Israel and Hamas could reach an understanding regarding the release of bodies of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Perchance the fires that are lit daily in the Israeli fields surrounding the Gaza Strip will stop and no more Palestinian young people will be killed at the border fence. A port could be established on an island off the Gaza coast. However, the chances that any of these changes will come to pass on their own are not high, and there is a burning need for an immediate solution that will stop the dangerous deterioration in Gaza.

The shocking descriptions of life in Gaza today have lost their impact. Everyone knows that the unemployment rate is staggering. That the only water safe to drink comes from bottles provided by vehicles that circulate daily. That there is electricity for only four hours a day, meaning that people without generators cannot preserve food, even if they have money to purchase it. That the schools are closed. Everyone says they want to help. Everyone seems to understand the danger of people having nothing more to lose.

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