Who Will Write the Ending of the War in Gaza?

Generals and conquerors have long recognized Gaza's strategic significance. Napoleon once said that "Gaza is the outpost of Africa and the gate to Asia." However, the path to Gaza was never paved with roses. Courageous resistance and the plague crushed Napoleon's army in the Levant. Despite occupying Gaza for a few months, he was eventually defeated and forced to retreat. Gaza has now become the largest open-air prison in history. It is reminiscent of the 20th-century fascist Italian camps in Libya, and it may not be very different from the camps that Jews were placed in during the Holocaust. Just as Jews were victims of the Holocaust, today the Palestinians in Gaza are victims of a new Holocaust against a different victim. If it were not rooted in religious tradition, we would not have seen this systematic displacement implemented so easily. The line from the bible: "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides," is among the justifications for the expulsion and displacement pursued by the extreme right-wing government in Israel today, whose ministers threaten dissolution in the event that the war stops. Even the slightest concession towards a two-state solution, which the extreme right rejects outright, could blow up this government. Rather, it sees the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and even the West Bank, which they call "Judea and Samaria," as their only choice. The war on Gaza has precipitated a mass exodus, with refugees and displaced persons crammed into sites unfit for human habitation and upending their lives. Thirty years ago, we were told that there would be peace in the Middle East built around the Gaza-Jericho Agreement. However, with time, Gaza and Jericho proved to be nothing more than territory without peace. "Cursed be he who builds a stone in it," their tradition goes. Peace with its inhabitants, even its stones, has been perpetually vetoed. The open-ended war on Gaza could be seen as a new Holocaust with different victims. Benjamin Netanyahu's actions speak for themselves. Those who follow Arab-Israeli affairs can all see that Netanyahu does not see peace or an end to the war. He is indifferent to the return of the hostages and the release of Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu is stymying negotiations and believes that he must unburden himself of the captured Israeli soldiers, even if that means killing them to prevent them from being used as leverage in negotiations. This was evident when three Israeli captives were killed by Israeli soldiers despite waving white flags and crying out for help in Hebrew. Netanyahu's soldiers shot them dead. Ido Shmerez, the brother of one of the three victims, Alon, affirmed this during the latter’s funeral. "Those who abandoned you killed you after you did everything right." An Israeli negotiator has admitted that Netanyahu is deliberately undermining the negotiations because he believes he can improve his position. However, the negotiator adds, “This risks the lives of the hostages.” Meanwhile, the mother of an Israeli prisoner has openly accused Netanyahu of systematically sabotaging the deal. The Israeli public, which is up in arms against the war cabinet led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is fully aware of Netanyahu's stalling and his attempts to foil any process that could end the war and facilitate an exchange of prisoners between Palestinians and Israelis. Netanyahu believes that he can force Hamas to make major concessions through military pressure. However, Hamas continues to insist on its terms, meaning that the war will continue. That is what Netanyahu wants, despite there being no buildings left to destroy in Gaza. The list of targets was exhausted months ago, and Israel has failed to annihilate Hamas or destroy its tunnel network. It has only succeeded in killing civilians, displacing two million Palestinians, and creating poverty and hunger. Now is not the time to discuss Hamas and how it instigated this war with unpredictable consequences against a vastly superior fighting force that has no red lines and does not respect rules of engagement. What’s done is done. We now need to end the war and start rebuilding Gaza. Arabs are increasingly demanding an end to "the war, the extermination of civilians, the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, and the siege on Gaza." Their stance does not equate to support for Hamas in its actions. Hamas is fully responsible for every step it takes, and Palestinian people have the right to decide who governs them in Gaza. Gaza is devastated and destroyed. The only solution is allowing the Palestinians to have a viable Palestinian state. Then, the Palestinians can elect their representatives and remove Hamas. It should be pushed out through the ballot box, not the destruction of Gaza and the elimination of Yahya Sinwar. Israeli politicians, world leaders, and the next American president must recognize that "there can be no peace without the establishment of a Palestinian state." Delaying or evading this outcome will only fuel and justify more violence. The question remains: who will write the ending of the war in Gaza?