When I see people screaming to ‘Free Palestine,’ I wonder if they understand that there’s never been an independent State of Palestine. Its remarkable that so many people who consider themselves well educated have so little knowledge of History and geopolitics.
For those less clear on their more recent History, Israel left Gaza to the PA in 2005 which included forcibly removing Israeli settlers in Gaza at the time. Gaza was then nominally governed by the PA until 2007 when Hamas officially occupied Gaza after a brief but bloody civil war with the PA. Hamas, not Israel, has occupied and controlled Gaza since 2007.
In more recent history, the Gaza Strip was controlled by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan. In fact, until as recently as 1988, West Bank Palestinian residents had Jordanian passports which were unilaterally revoked by Jordan that year. Both territories were lost to Israel in wars of aggression neither of which were started by Israel.
A ‘state’ starts with the minimal expectation of unified political culture, leadership, and an economy. All Palestinian citizens have had are two warring oppressive autocracies to whom their citizens only represent international photo ops. There has never been an independent, autonomous Palestinian state. Jordan could still be a potential candidate but it would have to give part of its land back to its original Palestinian residents to create a Palestinian state.
Hamas has been especially oppressive and cruel to its own and as ready to kill Gazans as easily as it does Israelis. Hamas also kills #LGBTQ citizens even as ‘progressives’ in the West take up the Hamas cause. So a question for all those screaming to ‘free Palestine’ is what this means in practice.
What would a ‘Free Palestine’ look like?
And before anyone answers, realize that this will include Israel remaining right where it is if without Netanyahu in office. Now — with that said — what would a ‘free Palestine’ look like? Yahya Sinwar, the Gazan based leader of Hamas and ruler of Gaza, promised just this week to fight Israel to the last drop of blood of his Gazan citizens.
Large numbers of Gazans do not like Hamas even if that reality does not show up in polls taken by Palestinian organizations. And the PA, with its deeply corrupt and moribund dictator, Mahmoud Abbas, is reviled. Should the UN simply declare Abbas and the West Bank as the new ‘Palestine?’ How many would trust Abbas and the dull PA to manage such a project? Hamas just this week said it would not agree to end the violence in Gaza if it would have to give up any power over and its occupation of Gaza. I wouldn’t expect Hamas to be agreeable.
So far as I’m concerned, the scream of ‘Free Palestine’ far more emphasizes the elimination of Israel and all Israeli Jews with return of all land now belonging to Israel to what it was before; back to desert with warring Arab groups (collectively called ‘Palestinians’ but forever without a nation). And, frankly, I wonder how many in the West and the US who scream ‘from the river to sea’ even know which river or to what sea that genocidal mantra references.
If Hamas hadn’t turned every penny it has received for years in humanitarian aid for Gaza into an underground metroplex along with weapons with which to attack Israel and kill Israelis, Gaza may have had its own economy and an accessible semi autonomous relationship with Israel. This, even as the PA has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity always acting with complete indifference to what its citizens wanted.
It is the Palestinian leadership, both the PA and Hamas, which has long posed the most danger to Palestinian citizens. Hamas made that most apparent as of October 7.
When Hamas committed its Mongol like medieval brutality, slaughter, and sexual violence of Israelis on Oct 7, it got exactly what it was expecting in Israel’s overwhelming response. First responders and IDF who arrived immediately following the attack by Hamas terrorists discovered young women and girls whose pelvises had been broken due to repeated sexual assault — before they were murdered many of whose bodies were also mutilated.
Hamas was well aware how easy it would be to draw the floundering, pandering Netanyahu and his coalition of Jewish extremists and terrorists into their trap. They have since promised to repeat Oct 7 on any opportunity in the future. Netanyahu has immense accountability for the lead up to and Israel’s actions since October 7. Regardless, Hamas must be taken apart though I would recommend doing so without any further use of 2000 pound bombs.
Netanyahu has jumped all in going deeper into his own moral depravity with each passing day and evidenced with each news conference. I just heard his Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, announce that the war in Gaza could continue for ‘years.’ That is what he said, too; ‘continue for years.’
A point little identified is that the two most extreme members of Netanyahu’s Jewish Supremacist coalition, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, have made it clear they would leave (end) the coalition if Netanyahu’s ‘war cabinet’ stopped the war before what would subsequently be the total annihilation of and resumption of Israel’s control over Gaza.
That means Netanyahu’s choices include a never-ending war or losing all power and finally having his day in court. Since the chances for Bibi to do what is right for the State of Israel and Israel’s future is minimal, Netanyahu must either resign or be removed from power by the Knesset.
I support Joe Biden. I like and support Lloyd Austin. And I hadn’t thought I’d even say this until very recently; but with all of this clearly laid out, it will become necessary to give Israel a ‘timeline’ since Netanyahu and the Israeli Right have no plan but the attempt to ‘destroy’ Hamas and reoccupy Gaza. Basic funding for Iron Dome and other means of self protection must continue. But additional funding for Netanyahu and the Right’s war effort must become conditional.
The plan by Netanyahu is as shallow as it has been destructive. Just as he did in pushing his deeply failed ‘judicial reforms,’ Netanyahu is further organizing Israelis to oppose him him if more slowly due to the war. But it can’t wait much longer because, above all, Netanyahu must be forced from office and out of government to include taking his Faustian coalition with him.
I’d offer that the 2-state solution, while not irrelevant for the future, has no chance now as things stand. Modern Palestinians have had multiple chances to create a ‘Palestinian’ nation starting with their refusal for a partition in 1948 to Oslo and the Camp David Accords with then President Clinton but torpedoed by Arafat.
Recognizing and accepting that Israel is not going anywhere and will survive is the best place to start across the Arab world...and by the many ‘progressives’ and liberals in the West as well.
A demilitarized Gaza and West Bank could become a semi-autonomous and connected state though external monitoring and security will be critical. Ze'ev Jabotinsky’s ‘Iron Wall’ model, written in 1923 which led to the creation of a uniquely strong Israeli military, was intended to succeed when fighting over the same land against established states and their respective militaries.
Jabotinsky’s model has largely worked until now since Israel has primarily had to face independent states and their organized militaries. I think it is exactly because Israel cannot be defeated militarily — that the ‘Iron Wall’ has been so previously effective — such asymmetrical anti-Israel terrorist warfare has so sharply evolved.
And the Israeli Right let it evolve due to its arrogance, the mistaken belief neither Hamas nor the PA’s Fatah could ever truly do Israel harm, a deeply debased political agenda, and the successful use of Iron Dome.
Give thanks to Iron Dome — but imagine if Iron Dome hadn’t been in place and a few more of those rockets made it into populated areas. Israel’s war on Gaza would have occurred long before now since it has been Hamas’ goal since its inception in 1987…
Exactly 100 years ago, Jabotinsky wrote “the only way to reach an agreement in the future (with the Arabs) is to abandon all idea of seeking an agreement at present.” There must be no further opportunity to bring down the State of Israel by regional Arabs — or belief that it is possible. They must recognize Israel’s existence and right to safety and security. Only that way, can an agreement be reached in the future.