The biggest danger facing us all – Israelis and Palestinians – is that after the war in Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu might be, once again, be electable. I believe and hope that in the coming weeks and months, the Israeli public will once again remember October 7, what led to it, what happened afterwards and who was responsible for the failures of Israel to protect itself. I hope that the Israeli public will remember that since 2009 when Netanyahu returned to the Prime Minister’s office, he systematically and strategically advanced a plan that would prevent the emergence of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel. He would cynically offer support for the two states solution in a speech at Bar Ilan University and then went on to ensure that the Palestinian leadership was divided and dysfunctional and unable to bring political achievements to the Palestinian people. The Palestinian leadership undoubtedly and perhaps unwillingly cooperated with Netanyahu but nonetheless contributed to the success of Netanyahu’s strategy. Netanyahu was directly responsible for the process of delegitimizing President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority – turning them into what appeared to the Palestinian people – the Israeli security subcontractor protecting Israeli settlers rather than protecting the Palestinian people. Netanyahu refused to negotiate with President Abbas on anything of political substance. In 2012 and 2013 I personally brought to Netanyahu messages from President Abbas to open up secret direct back-channel negotiations on peace, and Netanyahu refused. At the same time, as we all know, Netanyahu ensured that Hamas would remain in power and be funded throughout all of the years while Netanyahu consistently told the international community that Israel was more than willing to negotiate with the Palestinians, but that there no one to negotiate with – an illegitimate corrupt Palestinian Authority and a terrorist organization in Gaza that wants to destroy Israel.
On October 7, 2023, Netanyahu’s strategy blew up in the face of Israel and the Israeli people. The wake-up call on October 7 should have been that you cannot deny freedom to an entire people for decades and expect to live in peace. There is no way to manage the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – it must be resolved, not managed. And by now it should be clear to the Palestinian people, that on October 7, Hamas committed an act of collective national suicide – without ever consulting with the Palestinian people if they were partners to those plans. The Palestinian people have been paying the horrific price done by the Israeli war machine which has committed war crimes in Gaza with devastating consequences that was instigated by the criminal attack of Hamas against Israel.
The Palestinian people have not had the opportunity to elect their leaders since 2006. In his recent letter to French President Macron, President Abbas said that the Palestinian people would conduct new elections within one year. Those elections need to be conducted in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The only way to create Palestinian unity is through the ballot box. There is no reason for the Palestinians to ask Israel for permission to conduct elections in East Jerusalem (as Abbas did in 2021 and never got an answer) – there are 400,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem who are not citizens of Israel. Jerusalem is in fact the largest Palestinian city in Palestine. There are many modalities for enabling Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate in Palestinian elections, even if Israel says no. The most important thing about upcoming Palestinian elections is that the revised Palestinian election law should not permit Palestinian political parties that support the armed struggle to participate in the elections. No sovereign entity, or entity that wishes to be sovereign, can allow for the existence of armed groups within its territory that are not under its control. In his letter to Macron, Abbas said that the elections would be conducted in which political parties would be enabled to participate and be elected only if they support the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is a direct reference to support for the two states solution and peace between the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.
It is clear that the Israeli political arena is lacking leaders who are strong advocates of ending the occupation and making peace with a Palestinian state. Only Yair Golan and the Democrats Party of Israel and the Arab Members of Knesset support the two states solution and peace. Some of the other members of the Israeli opposition might support something they call “separation” but they are not supporters of ending the occupation and Palestinian statehood. This great void in the Israeli political map should not be the guide for the remaking of Palestinian politics in their upcoming elections. The Palestinian national elections must be a Palestinian referendum on the fundamental questions: are the Palestinian people willing to accept a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967 with a link between the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as their capital living side-by-side in peace with the State of Israel? Are the Palestinian people willing to accept that the Jewish people have an historic and present connection to the Land of Israel, even if the Israelis don’t today recognize the Palestinian people’s historic and present connection to the Land of Palestine? Can the Palestinian people rise above the arrogance of Israel and its denial of legitimate Palestinian rights in order to capture the higher moral grounds and to be on the right side of history and the future?
If Palestinian voting can be a reflection of the realization that the Israeli people, rather than being the enemy of Palestinian freedom, are in fact the solution to achieve that freedom. I know it is difficult for Palestinians to grasp that Israelis, backed by a very powerful army and maybe nuclear weapons are actually afraid of Palestinians. But October 7 plays out for Israelis every single day and if Palestinians had a way to successfully address Israeli fear, they would then have a very deep impact on Israeli political thinking. I know that it is not fair to request from the victim, from the occupied, to address the fears of the occupier. I can understand how difficult that is to do, but I suggest that this is the fastest route to political change, Palestinian freedom and Palestinian statehood. Both sides in this conflict play the victim card, and until now, both sides are clearly losing. It is time to change this and the Palestinian people, within one year, when elections are held have an opportunity to send a very clear message to Israel and to the world that the Palestinian people want to live in peace with Israel in a state of their own next to Israel, and not in place of Israel.
The Palestinian struggle against Israel and the occupation has been one of resistance. I ask the Palestinian people to ask themselves if resistance has brought them security, freedom, liberation, and dignity? Yes, it is the legitimate right of the occupied to resist the occupation. But has the strategy of resistance worked? Capturing the higher moral ground by being what Dr. Afif Safieh, a former senior Palestinian personality called “being unreasonably reasonable” may be a much better strategy. Yes, the Palestinian people should continue to convince all UN Member states to recognize the State of Palestine – because that is what those countries must do. But Palestine will not be free until the State of Israel recognizes the State of Palestine. That needs to be the goal.
I would love to see a new Palestinian political campaign with leaders who stand up tall with a banner that says: From the River to the Sea, On Two States We Agree! If this were to happen, and if it were to happen before Israel went to new elections, it would change the political map of Israel.
