The Tragedy Continues

In the previous blog, I wrote about the murderous rampage perpetrated by Hamas on 1400 Israelis, mothers, grandmothers, peace activists and children. We now see the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, mothers, grandmothers, relief agency volunteers, medical volunteers, and children. To date, the death toll reported by a Hamas agency is 8000 of which 3000 are children. I cannot understand Hamas’s underlying strategy, but what is clear is that Hamas knew that the consequences would be, the carpet bombing by the Israeli Airforce of Gaza and particularly of Gaza City. Over and above the deaths, 1.2 million Palestinians have been displaced and there seems to be no safe places in Gaza. Khan Younis in the south, a designated safe area by the IDF is now a target of daily bombing. Food, water and medical supplies are crossing the Raffa border in minuscule amounts. Hospitals are running out of fuel and are close to being unable to deliver the minimum of medical care to those injured by the relentless Israeli bombing. This is happening while Israeli families are burying loved family members, and other families are praying for the safe return of over 200 hostages being held by Hamas. The Israeli Government have a duty to protect its citizens and that is undisputable however, the blood of both, the massacred Israeli civilians and the Palestinian civilians suffering under relentless collective punishment is largely on the hands of Netanyahu. He has never had any intention to create a Palestinian State on the borders of Israel and this was to be achieved in two ways:

1. To play the divide-and-rule strategy, by keeping Hamas contained and active, thus keeping, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority at each other’s throats.
2. Accelerate the encroachment into the occupied West Bank by building new settlements. Currently, over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied territories, and by simply changing the facts on the ground, Netanyahu and his cabinet reinforce their view that there is no such thing as the West Bank, let alone occupied territories. Danny Danon one of Netanyahu’s political rottweilers further reinforces this belief when he refers to the West Bank, as Judea and Samaria. World leaders and members of Netanyahu’s cabinet like Ben Gavir and Simcha Rothman of the Far Right Religious Zionists Party complained about protestors shouting, “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free”, as being anti-Semitic. I’m not saying it isn’t however, many in Netanyahu’s cabinet, particularly the far-right religious fundamentalists believe in their version of the same chant, and it goes like this “From the river to the sea not a Palestinian will be seen”.

The consequence of this cynical political strategy can be seen in the massacres perpetrated by Hamas on the 7^th of October. Irrespective, this does not justify the inhumanity of Hamas’s actions, but we cannot ignore the theory of cause and effect. The cause is the failure to deliver a Palestinian State, the effect can be seen in the sort of violence that demeans us all. The IDF has started a ground offensive to kill Hamas militants and to eliminate the Hamas military infrastructure. Maybe they can, though unlikely, however, any attempt to do so will result in the deaths of thousands of more innocent Palestinians, particularly children.

What is blatantly obvious, is that the Israeli ground offensive will leave Gaza a wasteland. In addition, Palestinian children who have lost their parents and Palestinian parents who have lost their children through, what has been widely acknowledged, if not openly, as collective punishment, is laying the seeds for the next generation of militants, Hamas 2.0.

Hamas’s agenda is also unclear, do they want to destroy Israel or create a Palestinian State, are they simply happy to be used as mere proxies of Iran and simply be a tool to achieve Iran’s broader regional agenda? If the latter is the case, job done, in that the Abraham Accords, the anti-Iranian coalition between Israel, the Saudis and the US has been” kicked into the long grass.”

 Iran’s motives in supporting Hamas are at best suspect because, they do not believe in a democracy, clearly demonstrated by the regime’s murdering of young women and executing young men who support a woman’s “right to choose,” and that choice is simply about, to wear or not wear a hijab. It must also be noted, that Hamas has not had an election since it took power in Gaza in 2007. So, before Hamas can be considered a serious partner for peace, the link to the authoritarian theocratic state must be severed.

The other question is whether Hamas is a unified entity working towards a common goal. Recent reports highlight that the military wing of Hamas the Izz Ad -Dine al Qassam Brigades commanded by Marwan Issa and Mohammad Deif kept the Politburo led by Ismail Haniyeh in the dark about the 7^th of October attack, until the last minute.

To me, the problem is that Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, Hamas and the dreams and desires of the Palestinian people are not in sync. Palestinian civilians want a viable, democratic independent state in which they can plan the future of the 1.2 million children. The Israeli government under the Premiership of Netanyahu have not just undermined any attempt at a two-state solution but has also divided the Israeli people in his lust for power. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis were protesting, right up until October 7^th, against him, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and the Minister of National Security Ben Gavir, who are blatantly trying to usurp and undermine the powers of the Supreme Court, the only ballast within the Israeli political system, which has no second chamber. This is not just a threat to Israeli democracy but the region. In his narcissism, Netanyahu persists in not acknowledging the gravity of the catastrophe he and his acolytes have presided over.

The Israeli UN Ambassador has called for the resignation of the Secretary-General. This after António Guterres condemned, without any equivocation the brutal attacks on October 7^th by Hamas but went on to state the obvious, that these events do not happen in a vacuum. Even Jeremy Bowen agrees with that.

 Israeli government spokesmen introduce new phrases such as” unintentional casualties” to describe what is in effect collective punishment. The reality is when you target a single Hamas leader in a densely populated place such as Jabalia Refugee Camp, you distort the meaning of the word,” unintentional.” The term that should be used by the IDF spokespeople is, “foreseeable, consequential death.” The question that must be asked of the IDF is, what is the acceptable ratio of Palestinian children and civilian deaths for the elimination of a single senior Hamas leader?

A question that concerns me is whether the states in the neighbourhood such as Egypt, Syria, Saudia Arabia, Qatar, and the other authoritarian and misogynistic regimes want a democratic, independent, and viable Palestinian State. The answer in my view is no, they would probably see a democratic Palestinian State as a prelude to a nightmare, of another Arab Spring.

After watching and listening to the horrors of the past weeks I said to myself, there is no solution, but I also have a dream and I will lay it out below, so please humour me. However, a prerequisite to delivering this dream requires both the Israeli people and Palestinian people to rise and elect new political representatives whose focus is on a solution which will inevitably require give and take and the need to marginalise the extremes on both sides.

The issues:

1. There are 500,000 settlers on occupied lands and with more on the way. The question is, will any new Israeli government have the balls to face down, the far-right religious fanatic settler movement in the Westbank? It is these settlers who are engaged in a form of ethnic cleansing by using intimidation to clear Palestinians from their villages with the blessing of assault rifles issued by Ben Gavir.
2. There must be a right of return for Palestinians scattered across the region.
3. Infrastructure designed that connects Gaza and the West Bank.
4. A new Palestinian State needs to be secular, and democratic. Recognise Israel under international law and become a full member of the UN and non-aligned.
5. The need for a new generation of Palestinian politicians who understand a democratic mandate is a privilege, not a possession.
6. The Jerusalem conundrum.
7. Will the Israeli electorate give peace a chance by removing Netanyahu and his current far-right partners who are not acting in the interest of all Israeli citizens?

The How:

1. Israel and militant groups must commit to a complete cessation of violence before any serious negotiations can start.
2. In addition, Hamas and its counterparts must recognise Israel’s right to exist.
3. Hamas must release all hostages taken on October 7^th including IDF personnel.
4. Palestinians need to come to the table with a single voice and Israel needs to accept that elements of Hamas will make up part of that single voice.
5. Israel must show, not just goodwill but intention to work towards a two-state solution. This may include the process of releasing the 5,000 Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli prisons, some of whom are children.
6. 500 square KM carved from the Westbank and Israel to create a new Jewish province within a new Israeli border, where settlers will be supported to build a new and safe home.
7. Any new Palestinian state must not pose a military threat to Israel.
8. A 15-year investment plan by the international community to support economic and social investment to build a viable and sustainable Palestinian State.
9. Regional players from Saudis, Qatari, UAE, and other major players in the region put together a fund in conjunction with Israel to compensate Westbank settlers to move to this new province. The figure would be for example $100,000 per settler costing $50 billion with an additional commitment of $25 billion from the region and Israel to support the redevelopment phase. The regional powers are to commit an additional $ 150 billion to start the process of building a viable Palestinian State. The international community and institutions such as the World Bank will also play a key role. The cost to the regional powers will be to the tune of $225 billion which is just what Qatar spent on hosting the football World Cup.
10. A George Mitchell-type figure must be appointed, with all the necessary infrastructure and expertise to assist in negotiations and document the agreed settlement.
11. The US, the EU, the UK, and others must make a concerted long-term and relentless effort to support the only solution to the conflict which is the creation of a viable and democratic Palestinian state.
12. The negotiating process needs to be time-limited, to ensure there is a focus on the goal and that bad actors do not try and derail the process.
13. The process must be prepared for a tragic disruptive event that attempts to scupper the process, such as the Omagh Bombing in 1998.
14. Any peace process must include a variation of the Abraham Accords making the two issues intertwined. Let us be honest, the Abraham Accords were about Israel getting Arab investment, the Arabs getting Israeli technology and poking the Iranian regime in the eye.
15. Jerusalem should be managed as a location of special global interest, run by an international body. Not anyone’s capital but a tripartite arrangement where all the Abrahamic traditions, Jews, Christians, and Muslims can embrace the traditions of their faith.
16. Using the experience of Northern Ireland there will be a need for a decommissioning process overseen by people that both parties are comfortable with. In our case, it was men of peace, one Catholic priest one Protestant Minister and a respected high-ranking military person.

What has been made clear by the US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield is that there is no going back to the pre-October 7^th Status Quo, and you do not need to have been a rocket scientist to have worked that out.

I am simply a person who has seen for too long the horrors of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Like Martin Luther King Jnr said, “I have a dream” and “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God’s children.” All I can add is, I didn’t say it would be easy.

Suneil Sharma

3rd November 2023