Ami Ayalon: The Missing Israeli Endgame | Foreign Affairs Interview

Foreign Affairs invites you to listen to its podcast, the Foreign Affairs Interview. This episode with Ami Ayalon was originally published on November 20, 2023.

As Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza continues, questions abound about what happens when it finally stops. What can be salvaged from the wreckage? Will Hamas survive, if not as an organization, then as an ideology? Who will govern Gaza? What type of leadership will be needed on both sides to broker any type of lasting peace?

Former Israeli security chief Ami Ayalon says that today there is no clear picture in Israel about what happens on the day after—and that this is a grave mistake. Ayalon began his military service in 1963 and went on to lead Israel’s navy and then Shin Bet, the country’s internal security service.

The task for Israel, he argues, is not just addressing the security failures that preceded October 7, but offering a political future that both Israelis and Palestinians will support.

Sources:

“Why Netanyahu Must Go” by Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher, and Orni Petruschka
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel...

“An Incremental Tyranny” by Brian Michael Jenkins
https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_pu...