United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wants an immediate ceasefire and a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Guterres has never shown such concern and emergency on an ongoing conflict with other conflicts such as the Syrian massacre by Bashar al-Assad or the conflict in Yemen, and the deaths of his staff in Gaza are the only reason why he would have a logical reason for historically prioritising this conflict over others.
In any case, no one wants Palestinians to die and the world’s attention on them is the only thing that is currently protecting them from an enemy that is by far more powerful than them. Israel is part of the international community and inevitably, even if its government is run by extremists, international pressure does increase the reluctance on Israel’s part to address the Palestinian conflict on its own terms. On the other hand, the brutal reality is that peace will never be achieved if Hamas remains a part of the political landscape in Palestine. The only way forward is their ultimate removal from Palestinian society, which is necessary to have a chance at building a constructive peace process with the Palestinians.
Palestinians are neither an ephemeral people with a set of ideas that are projected by the Western left. Have anyone ever asked what Palestinians wanted in the first place? There’s an underlying reality that many Palestinians hate the Jews more than they want a state of their own, so once again, Hamas, that fuels these kinds of genocidal ideologies and can never be part of a peace process. Hamas has consistently ruined the peace process between Israel and Palestine, fomented hatred and divisions among Palestinians, and was even responsible for the expulsion of tens of thousands of Christian Palestinians from the Palestinian Authorities in the 1990s.
Palestinians refused a state twice, with the Oslo Accords and at Camp David, and refused to engage in negotiations with the Trump administration when an offer was made to them. Palestinians lost a series of wars they started and at this point can not realistically expect to go to the bargaining table as if they were in the same position they were in the 1990s. In some way or another, the Palestinians would have to concede some sort of defeat of their-held struggle and compromise on points that are reasonable and realistic: such as giving up their claim to Jerusalem and the right of return to all Palestinian immigrants and exiles – this will never happen if Hamas is still around.
Realistically, this conflict would end if Israel had a progressive government, Hamas was removed from the political scene, and the Palestinians were forced to accept a peaceful plan as prescribed by the international community. It’s either this or another extended period of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the ultimate destruction of the Palestinian dream. This is a reality that the supporters of Palestine have to accept.
As difficult as it might appear today, the two-state solution – in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements – is the only path to sustainable peace.
Any suggestion otherwise denies human rights, dignity and hope to the Palestinian people.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 22, 2023
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