The Indian Weekender, 27 October 2023

Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 27 October, 2023
WORLD 15
Does Israel have a plan for Gaza?
IAN PARMETER
Not counting periodic cross-border
skirmishes, Israel has fought three
major wars against Hamas since
withdrawing its forces from Gaza in 2005 – in
2008, 2014 and 2021. Each involved limited
ground incursions, with Israeli soldiers in
Gaza for about a fortnight.
In the past couple weeks, Israel has put
together a huge force to mount another
ground invasion in retaliation for the Hamas
cross-border attacks that killed about 1,400
Israelis on October 7.
The operation is shaping up to be Israel’s
biggest since its invasion of Lebanon
in 1982, which was aimed at driving the
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)
from its base there.
It’s a truism that wars have unintended
consequences.
When the fighting stops:
no good options
What Israel intends to do if and when it
has secured the northern half of Gaza is
not clear. The coastal strip is already facing
a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation,
according to the UN. And in terms of
administering the territory, there are few
good options.
1. A military reoccupation of Gaza, as
Israel did from 1967 to 2005: This
would constitute a huge military
burden and expose IDF personnel to
JULIE LOBALZO WRIGHT
“100 Years of Wonder” is the
theme for Disney’s year-long
promotion of the company’s
centenary. From special Disney
on Ice events to a retrospective at
British Film Institute and limited
edition Disney100 merchandise,
Disney’s celebration is big
business.
The business acumen of those
behind the scenes at Disney
have been central to the peaks
and troughs of the company’s
enduring presence in the film
industry and popular culture at
large.
Early Disney
The Walt Disney Company was
founded in Hollywood by brothers
Walt and Roy Disney in 1923.
Animation is what the Disney
studio became known for. First
with their shorts which included
Mickey Mouse’s third outing
in the studio’s first sound film,
Steamboat Willie, and the Silly
Symphony series. And then
in their feature length films,
beginning with Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
The first two decades of the
studio established Disney’s
desire for innovation and profit.
This was illustrated through their
early adoption of merchandising
(Mickey Mouse merchandise was
profitable in the mid 1930s) and
various technologies, such as
Technicolor and sound.
Sinking most of their profits
back into their expensive
animated ventures led Disney to
find ways to cut costs. T
his included making live action
nature series, television shows
The sixth flight under Operation Ajay departs from Tel Aviv amid the Israel-Hamas war, on Sunday. (ANI)
violence and kidnapping. US President
Joe Biden has warned reoccupation
would be a big mistake.
2. Eliminate Hamas’ senior leadership,
declare victory, then leave: Such a
victory would almost certainly be
short-term. Other low-level members
of Hamas would take pride in coming
forward to reconstitute the group. Or
another group, such as Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, might fill the vacuum.
Israel would not be able to control
who or what that entity might be.
3. Call on the secular Fatah party
Disney at 100: Brand’s real
legacy is its business acumen
and opening Disneyland, their first
amusement park, in Los Angeles
in 1955.
While their animated products
were no longer as groundbreaking
as they once were, their adoption
of television in the 1950s was
lucrative and popular, especially
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955)
and Davy Crockett (1954).
Furthermore, television afforded
the company the opportunity
to promote their products and
authenticate Disney’s position
at the forefront of animation.
However, live action films
– quicker to make and less
expensive than animation –
dominated their releases in the
1960s, with stars Haley Mills,
Fred MacMurray and Dean Jones
appearing in multiple Disney
films.
In 1966, Walt died. Roy then
passed in 1971 and Walt Disney
World opened in Florida the same
year. In many ways, the Disney
Company was never the same
after the loss of the founding
brothers.
Disney without Walt
The template was established
for how the company would
function for the next 50 years.
Disney animation innovated again
in the late 1980s and early 1990s
through computer animation. A
renaissance took place with the
releases of The Little Mermaid
(1989), Beauty and the Beast
(1991) and The Lion King (1994).
They also expanded into
cable television with The
Disney Channel and founded a
distribution label, Touchstone
Pictures, that focused on films for
adults.
Walt had learned the
importance of owning rights early
in his career, after he lost the
intellectual property to his first
successful animated character,
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
The imperative to retain
proprietorship and diversify the
corporation can be witnessed
in many of Disney’s deals and
mergers.
Disney Today
In 1995, Disney acquired the
ABC television network, which
also owned the cable sports
network, ESPN.
In April 2004, Disney purchased
the Muppets franchise. In 2009,
Marvel Entertainment was
acquired and Lucasfilm was
bought in 2012.
Through these purchases,
Disney has become one of the
most significant entertainment
companies in the world and
one of the few early Hollywood
studios that still maintains name
recognition (Disney bought out
20th Century Fox in 2019).
The commercial landscape of
the entertainment business is
always in flux.
While many companies are
operating their own streaming
services, the long term success of
these services are questionable.
This is most evident in the
recent writers and actors strike
in Hollywood that was mainly
focused on outdated royalty
models that do not account for
streaming media content.
Disney’s last few releases
were not as successful as they
had anticipated at the box office
and they have lost a significant
amount of Disney+ subscribers
this year.
However, this is a trend taking
that now controls the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank to take
control in Gaza: That is scarcely
viable. Fatah lost a civil war to Hamas
in 2007 and there’s no indication the
Palestinian Authority’s return would
be acceptable to Palestinians there.
Moreover, the authority’s leader,
Mahmoud Abbas, was elected to a
four-year term in 2005 – and is still in
charge. As such, he lacks legitimacy,
even in West Bank.
4. Administration of Gaza by nonaligned
local leaders: This is a pipe
place throughout Hollywood and,
while Disney is struggling, they
remain a significant brand in the
global media market.
And there is no question that
their theme parks continue to be
popular with families who want to
immerse themselves in all things
Disney.
The magic of Disney’s
animation and the memories
dream. Even if such figures could be
found, Gazans would almost certainly
see them as collaborators with the
Israelis, given their role would be
to keep the strip’s hardliners under
control.
5. Administration of Gaza by a non-
Palestinian Arab force: Again, this is
not feasible. The leaders of potential
Arab contributors to such a force,
such as Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia,
would not want to be seen as policing
Palestinians on behalf of Israel.
6. Administration of Gaza by a non-Arab
or United Nations force: Given the
enormous risks, it’s very hard to see
any non-Arab countries embracing
this idea. A UN peacekeeping force
would require not only Israeli approval,
but a UN Security Council resolution
at a time when Russia and China
rarely agree with the three Western
permanent members.
Israel also contends Hezbollah has
impeded the UN peacekeeping force in
Lebanon from carrying out its mandate,
preventing it from stopping militant attacks.
After the Hamas attacks, Israel would
be unlikely to entrust its security to
peacekeepers with little incentive to put their
lives on the line for its sake.
(The author is Research Scholar, Centre
for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian
National University)
The "Partners" statue in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World
in Orlando, Florida. (CC: Joe Penniston)
created at their theme parks
is part of their “100 years
of wonder”. But so is their
successful business model
that has continually adapted to
changes in the entertainment
business and its persistent
cultural relevance.
(The author is Assistant
Professor in Film and Television
Studies, University of Warwick)