The ceasefire agreement which went into effect today is good news.

The agreement is between Israel and the Government of Lebanon, not between Israel and Hezbollah. It seems that Hezbollah has been weakened enough to end the war in Lebanon before the war in Gaza has ended, despite Hezbollah’s previous position that linked the two wars. The people of Lebanon have let Hezbollah know that they want the war to end. It is now the Lebanese army that will soon be deployed on the Israel-Lebanon border, not Hezbollah and Israel needs to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. There is a (small) chance that Lebanon could be looking at a future in which the state of Lebanon can hopefully assert its sovereignty over the whole country and no longer be subservient to Hezbollah.

It is even possible to imagine that in the future, indirect Lebanon-Israel talks could resolve the 13 points of dispute between the two countries on the border. There is no real conflict between Israel and Lebanon. The real conflict that is at the root of all of Israel’s conflicts in the region, is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now, the war in Gaza must come to an end, quickly, in which all of the hostages are released, Israel leaves Gaza permanently, a new responsible Palestinian government takes over in Gaza that will work for the benefit of the people of Palestine.

Then the Israeli government will be finally brought down and new elections will take place. The Israeli National Commission of Enquiry will be established and will bring to justice all of those who were responsible for leading us to October 7, those who were responsible for failing to protect Israel on that day, and all of the failures of the Israeli government since October 7. The Israeli occupation over the Palestinian people must come to an end and the two-states solution needs to be negotiated and implemented. Israel needs to become a state where all citizens enjoy full equality.

All of the people living between the River and the Sea must enjoy the same right to the same rights. There are no other options if Israel wants to survive and live in peace in the Middle East.

Categories: Insights

Gershon Baskin

Gershon Baskin is one of the most recognizable names in the Middle East Peace process. He is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to peace between Israel and its neighbors. His dedication to creating a culture of peace and environmental awareness, coupled with his impeccable integrity, has earned him the trust of the leaders of all sides of the century old conflict. Few people have such far-reaching and positive impacts on promoting peace, security, prosperity and bi-national relationships. Gershon is an advisor to Israeli, Palestinian and International Prime Ministers on the Middle East Peace Process and the founder and director of IPCRI, the Israeli-Palestinian Public Policy Institute. He was the initiator and negotiator of the secret back channel between Israel and Hamas for the release of 1,027 prisoners – mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis of which 280 were sentenced to life in prison, including Yahya Sinwar, the current Palestinian leader of the Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The prisoners were imprisoned for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Jewish targets that resulted in the killing of 569 Israelis in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit. Gershon is actively involved in research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, environmental security, political strategy, peace education, economics, culture and in the development of affordable solar projects with the goal of providing clean electricity for 50 million people by 2020. He is a founding member of Kol Ezraheiha-Kol Muwanteneiha (All of the Citizens) political party in Israel. He is now directing The Holy Land Bond and is the Middle East Director for ICO – International Communities Organization - a UK based NGO working in conflict zones with failed peace processes.