https://arab.news/n9su2
History is replete with ironies, and it would be the irony of all ironies if it were to be current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of all people, who, by his obstructionist approach to any peace based on the two-state solution, was to become the catalyst of Palestinian self-determination becoming a reality.
On the face of it, you might ask yourself: how is this possible? After all, it is Netanyahu who, in his long political career, has invested much of his energy and the power of his office in the cause of preventing Palestinian self-determination. And he has incited against any Israeli leader who has negotiated peace based on a two-state solution, as well as those who have merely supported it.
That is all true. And even in the few instances when he expressed support for a two-state solution, it was half-hearted and almost deliberately unconvincing. He also allowed and actually encouraged the transfer of hundreds of millions of US dollars into Hamas’ coffers to add fuel to the rift between this Islamist movement and its political rival Fatah, which governs the West Bank. He used this to advance his claim that there was no partner for peace on the Palestinian side, as long as the two territories of a future Palestinian state were kept politically divided and no general election was held to unite the Palestinian political system.
However, Netanyahu has now run out of tricks. And the entire world, including close allies that once gave him the benefit of the doubt or simply did not want to confront Israel, has now concluded that, in this conflict, we have passed the eleventh hour for reaching a fair and just resolution and that moves to reverse this trend must now include the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
The entire world has now concluded that we have passed the eleventh hour for reaching a fair and just resolution
Yossi Mekelberg
From the minute Netanyahu formed a government made up of those who represent the most extremist among the Jewish settlers in the West Bank, whose only solution is annexation and the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians — a euphemism for forced displacement — the clock started ticking for the world to recognize that this government has no interest in a two-state solution. Worse, these messianic nationalists of Israel’s ruling coalition are doing their best to also make it extremely difficult for any future Israeli government to reach such a deal. Hence, this required a firm response.
Nearly two years since the deadliest attack on Israeli soil in a single day, more countries than ever are now actively supporting the creation of a Palestinian state. And a number of Israel’s closest allies, which previously conditioned their recognition of a Palestinian state on first reaching a final status agreement, have changed their mind. Instead, these states — including the UK, Canada and Australia on Sunday and France on Monday — have already moved to recognize the state of Palestine. Israel’s deadly, disproportionate and open-ended response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023 — a response that has so far killed more than 64,000 Palestinians and sowed destruction and hunger throughout Gaza — has accelerated the recognition of Palestinian statehood more than anything else.
Illustrating this change of mood among the international community, the UN General Assembly this month passed, by a huge majority of 142 in favor with only 10 against and 12 abstentions, a resolution endorsing the New York declaration on the “Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution,” which was the outcome of the France and -sponsored international summit in July. There is hardly any other issue in world affairs that enjoys such a consensus, which includes four permanent members of the UN Security Council and six members of the G7, leaving the US in not-so-splendid isolation.
There could not be a clearer or more united message from the international community, including some of Israel’s closest allies and regional powers that have normalized relations with Tel Aviv. The world is desperate to end this conflict, which is the cause of immeasurable suffering.
This approach is gathering momentum, as only last week a UN commission of inquiry concluded there are reasonable grounds to declare that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out by Israel since the start of the war with Hamas in October 2023. Such is the moral degradation and international isolation that Netanyahu has brought upon Israel.
It is regrettable, however, that recognition of a Palestinian state is being presented by some countries as a punishment for Israel’s behavior and not as a positive measure toward peacefully resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, although ideally this will be the eventual outcome.
Israel’s deadly response to Oct. 7 has accelerated the recognition of Palestinian statehood more than anything else
Yossi Mekelberg
In the past, there have been so many opportunities and moves to peacefully end this conflict, and all have failed. The consequences have been catastrophic. Both peoples can ill afford any further missed opportunities and the lives and rights of Palestinians cannot forever be at the mercy of Israel.
Israel’s response to the UNGA resolution, expressed by its ambassador Danny Danon, was to declare that “this one-sided declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this assembly’s credibility,” and that “Hamas is the biggest winner of any endorsement here today.” Sadly, this rhetoric is more likely to be remembered as lacking the basic skills of critical reading and thinking, while merely acting as a deliberate smokescreen as Israel continues its military assault on Gaza City, which is costing the lives of so many innocent Palestinians, and exacerbates the oppression of Palestinians who live under occupation in the West Bank.
The New York declaration, if implemented, as it should be, is a victory for those on both sides who want to live in peace. It calls for a two-state solution that builds a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and all other people in the region. Moreover, and emphatically, it is not a victory for Hamas, as it unreservedly condemns the attack of Oct. 7 and specifically states: “In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.”
Yes, the declaration condemns Israel for its killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians and calls for measures against violent extremist settlers, but the path of peace must lead to the marginalizing of extremists and extremism on both sides, creating the space for those who want to change the course of history of both nations from one of war to one of peace; from bloodshed to coexistence; and from deep animosity to reconciliation.
- Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg