Israel requires a fresh approach with Palestine
Executing an all-out war on Hamas is not going to once and for all resolve Israel’s fundamental insecurity, which has a structural character.
The daring and complex military offensive by Hamas into Israel on October 7 has left in its devastating trail multiple lessons and dilemmas for the Jewish State. While Israel has immense military firepower to extract an overwhelming revenge against Hamas and allied Palestinian outfits in the Gaza Strip, the bigger challenge it faces is in the political and diplomatic arenas.
Executing an all-out war on Hamas is not going to once and for all resolve Israel’s fundamental insecurity, which has a structural character. Israel cannot just hit back hard at Hamas and expect that it will bury the problem. The metaphor in Israeli national security circles of “mowing the grass”, i.e. carrying out round after round of counterattacks to cut down radical Palestinian jihadist movements to size until they inevitably grow their shoots again, is a realistic reminder that there is no military solution per se to a persistent threat stemming from territorial and religious disputes fuelled by regional geopolitical rivalries.
Previous wars between Israel and Hamas in 2008-2009 and in 2014, did not put the matter to rest. The grass grew again after those deadly spells of fighting and today Israel finds itself having to mobilise once more to try and shave it off ever so finely.
For Israel to get long-term peace and stability, the only viable pathway is a mutually acceptable political settlement with the Palestinians, which is underwritten by a broader regional bargain. The formula of a “two-State solution”, which had for long been touted as the only fair and just outcome, lies in tatters. Not even a majority of Palestinians, frustrated by ever-increasing economic and political marginalisation, backs it now. Fratricidal divisions between the “radical” Hamas and “moderate” Fatah factions, and the political ascent in Israel of the Jewish settler movement, which has annexed vast tracts of land in the West Bank, have rendered an independent Palestinian State practically impossible. The periodic wars emanating from Gaza, which the Israeli Defence Forces and Jewish settlers vacated in 2005, have also left Israelis unwilling to accept a truly sovereign Palestinian State.
Since Palestinian statehood is out of the question, the key is for Israel to permit some form of non-militarised autonomy in the Palestinian territories with an emphasis on economic opportunities and mobility for Palestinians civilians to escape being trapped in a perpetual blockade. Israeli occupation cannot be ended due to the tendency of the “grass” growing back, but it can be made less intrusive in return for security guarantees.
The status quo in Jerusalem, which involved agreements among Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians delineating rules for Jews and Muslims to access disputed holy sites, will also need to be preserved to avoid more conflagrations over “desecration” or “insult” to religious symbols. Permitting absolute freedom for Jewish hardliners to push the boundaries of these delicate institutional arrangements is triggering mayhem. It is time to step back from a maximalist approach of harnessing Israel’s superiority in the overall balance of power to extract everything for Israel and leave absolutely nothing to the Palestinians. A “winner takes all” mentality will not secure peace for Israel.
However, making even limited concessions to the Palestinians cannot yield a peace dividend unless there is a buy-in from regional and global powers. Israel’s strategy of gaining diplomatic recognition from neighbouring Arab countries via pacts like the United States-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords has chipped away at the Jewish State’s hitherto pariah status. Israel is today diplomatically in its strongest position since its creation in 1948.
Yet, this comfortable situation vis-à-vis moderate Arab countries is not quieting down Palestinian extremists because the “axis of resistance” comprising Iran, Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah continues to stand up to Israel. Hamas’ audacious “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7 was undoubtedly enabled by its patron Iran, which is Israel’s principal adversary.
Israel has to open a channel of dialogue with Iran to set mutually acceptable red lines and restraints in their no-holds-barred struggle. Israel has the upper hand over Iran in military and economic power and the Jewish State has often shown Iran how it can strike deep inside Iranian territory. But given the powerful web of proxies Iran wields in the region, Israel must seek a tacit bargain with Iran based on a “balance of terror”.
The US, which views Iran as an inveterate foe and coordinates closely with Israel to punish Iran for its “malign activities”, must realise that this pressure is not helping to douse the flames in the region. Saudi Arabia, which has entered into a rapprochement with Iran and is seeking limited Israeli concessions for Palestinians in order to normalise its relations with Israel, can play a constructive role here to pause the relentless tit-for-tat attacks and counter attacks that keep regional order in chaos.
Palestinian rage being answered by Israeli fury has been a repetitive cyclical tragedy. A new approach that rests on mutual restraint and regional concord is the only way out of this vicious cycle.
Sreeram Chaulia is dean, Jindal School of International Affairs. The views expressed are personal
Continue reading with HT Premium Subscription
