Every person living between the River and the Sea must have the same right to the same rights. – Gershon Baskin

Hamas succeeded in forcing Israelis to confront the fallacy of basing its policies via-a-via the Palestinians on military force. October 7 will live with Israelis for generations. Hamas also succeeded in putting the cause of Palestine back on the international agenda. It won’t be long before it is also part of the Israeli agenda. Hamas is also responsible for bringing about the destruction of Gaza and a Nakba more horrible than 1948 as well as the atrocities it committed against Israelis.

For Palestinians the lessons learned must first and foremost be that there should no longer be an armed struggle as part of their liberation strategy – right or wrong- the armed struggle primarily brings death and destruction.

Israel killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. Israel’s actions in Gaza were entirely disproportionate and unjustified by any military or moral scale. Both sides have committed war crimes. Non- violent political Islam is legitimate. Armed Palestinian militia should disappear from the Palestinian struggle. Israelis also must understand that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Gaza war must be the last Israeli Palestinian war. We simply cannot continue to do this. Every person living between the River and the Sea must have the same right to the same rights. From that principle we can move forward. Freedom, self-determination, security, and dignity for all.

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.