David Ignatius’ Thoughts on Eroding Soft Power and a Missed Opportunity
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from May 28, 2025 | Behind the Headlines: America’s Role in a Changing World. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the speaker.
In a recent America at a Crossroads discussion, veteran Washington Post columnist and foreign policy expert David Ignatius shed light on a largely overlooked but consequential development: the existence—and subsequent abandonment—of a detailed post-war governance plan for Gaza. Speaking with longtime public radio host Larry Mantle, Ignatius explored how Israeli leadership under Benjamin Netanyahu missed a critical opportunity to stabilize Gaza and how that failure is reverberating across the region and undermining Israel’s security.
A Growing Rift with Arab Allies
Ignatius began by highlighting a major diplomatic rupture: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) summoned Israel’s ambassador for a formal rebuke over provocations at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. As one of Israel’s most important regional allies and a lead signatory of the Abraham Accords, the UAE’s public reprimand signals deepening frustration. “The UAE has been Israel’s boldest friend in the Arab world,” Ignatius noted. “But this war in Gaza is putting that at risk.”
Other traditional allies, including Britain, France, and Canada, issued similarly sharp condemnations of Israel’s actions—particularly the withholding of food and humanitarian aid from Gaza. The diplomatic fallout, Ignatius warned, is part of a broader erosion of goodwill toward Israel in the international community.
A Plan Israel Walked Away From
What makes the current crisis more tragic, Ignatius argued, is that there was a viable plan—supported by the U.S., Israel, and the UAE—for managing Gaza after Hamas. Developed in coordination with Israeli military and security services, the plan involved the Palestinian Authority (PA) serving as a transitional umbrella under which Arab and European nations would help stabilize the territory. U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces, vetted and prepared at facilities in Jordan, were to take over governance duties.
“It wasn’t a pipe dream,” Ignatius emphasized. “The countries had been asked, the troops were lined up, the sites were ready. It was real.”
But Netanyahu, facing domestic political pressures and determined to preserve his right-wing coalition, rejected the plan. Ignatius believes this was a grave error with lasting consequences for Israel’s security. “This could have prevented Gaza from becoming a kind of Somalia on Israel’s border,” he said.
Can the Palestinian Authority Be Reformed?
Acknowledging the PA’s deep credibility problems, Ignatius didn’t sugarcoat the challenges. “It’s corrupt, mistrusted,” he admitted, based on his reporting across the West Bank. Yet he also argued that reform is possible—especially with meaningful international investment in security and governance training. The Biden administration had already framed the strategy around a “reformed Palestinian Authority,” or RPA.
“It wasn’t fantasy,” Ignatius said. “The infrastructure and partnerships were there. It just required political will.”
Eroding Soft Power and a Missed Opportunity
As the interview progressed, Ignatius placed the Gaza conflict within a broader context of declining U.S. and Israeli soft power. The failure to pursue a diplomatic and regionally coordinated solution has diminished trust in both countries’ leadership. “These kinds of choices don’t just affect Palestinians—they undermine Israel’s legitimacy and isolate it further,” Ignatius warned.
He added that the U.S., too, has seen its global standing slip as the Trump administration eschewed alliances, attacked institutions, and sowed distrust among partners. The rejection of the Gaza plan, he suggested, fits a pattern: a retreat from thoughtful diplomacy in favor of short-term political survival.
The High Cost of Inaction
Ignatius closed the conversation with a somber reflection. “This war has created immense suffering, and the lack of a plan to manage its aftermath only deepens that suffering,” he said. “Israel has lost an opportunity—not just to protect itself, but to lead.”
The interview served as a powerful reminder that diplomacy, while difficult, remains the most sustainable path to peace. And when that path is abandoned, the consequences can be profound—not only for the region but for the values that democracies claim to uphold.
About America at a Crossroads
Since April 2020, America at a Crossroads has produced weekly virtual programs on topics related to the preservation of our democracy, voting rights, freedom of the press, and a wide array of civil rights, including abortion rights, free speech, and free press. America at a Crossroads is a project of Jews United for Democracy & Justice.