The hardest year: What changed in us and in them?

Israel's losses since last year until today are represented by its exposure from within; it is not distinguished by the democracy that they "drove" us with, nor by its ability, nor its strength. It became clear that it is ready to expose all its friends if they are late in sending advanced ammunition, and all claims of victimhood, uniqueness, exceptionalism, the power of innovation and creative individualism fell. All of that fell when Netanyahu stood before "the same" Congress to tell them that he is fighting for them. This man knew that the United States had dropped all the known formalities of preserving rights and international law and so on. During this year, the United States appeared before the entire world as it really is, a mere colonial entity that uses everything to achieve its interests, and cares about nothing but profit and control.

Israel's losses are also the United States' losses, as they appeared at the United Nations as two entities ready to crush international law, threaten its representatives, besiege its bodies, and stand naked in the face of the rights of peoples and all laws.

It was a year of scandals, filled with lies, hypocrisy, feeding death, starvation, terror and displacement, broadcast live.

It was a year in which the world saw how America and Israel were able to suppress all rational voices, protesting demonstrations, international resolutions, and all efforts that tried to advance at least the minimum conditions for stopping the massacre.

Israel's losses were not limited to destroying values and shattering the image that Israel always wanted to present to the world, but these losses were also represented in breaking the will of the region. Israel succeeded - in my opinion - in sabotaging all the efforts and many temptations to establish its acceptance and integration in the region. I do not believe that an entity like this entity, which is capable of destroying everything, will be acceptable to anyone.

The new image that Israel wants to export to the region, as an angry and crazy entity that imposes fear on everyone, not love, is a hollow and very fragile image, as this year in particular witnessed many attacks launched against Israel from multiple fronts, and there was no region in the entity that did not receive its share of sirens at least.

This year witnessed the closure of Lod Airport, railways, ports, schools and institutes, and witnessed what Israel has not witnessed for many decades in terms of social and institutional erosion, reverse migration, economic decline and the delegitimization of its occupation.

Instead of limiting the bloody clash to the Palestinian people, the war has expanded to include multiple parties and fronts, which is another scandal for the policy of the United States, which has been unable to offer anything in this regard, either due to inability or submission to the most extremist government in the history of Israel or because it is a partner in everything that is happening in one way or another, or all of that combined.

So, Israel's losses also included the loss of political influence, power and warm relations, and this may be due to what we do not know or expect. Massacres usually lead to what we do not know or expect, and I firmly believe that what Israel is doing to us in terms of this violation of our blood, our wealth and our space will never lead to stability or even a minimal settlement.

I firmly believe that Israel has cut the last threads and burned the last ships to return or restore reason.

As much as Israel has lost during this year, we have also lost. We have lost the best people and we have lost much of what we have accomplished on the ground. We are still losing our unity and the ability to transform all this blood into a real basis for progress and advancement. We are still stuck in the same place, with the same language, with the same interests and the same agenda.

It was a painful year by all standards. We were singled out, and our region stood helpless, watching and surrendering. Despite all its capabilities, it was unable to impose or change the facts, in a situation that, to say the least, has been repeated in the past as well.

In my opinion, our region is very wrong if it believes that its neutrality or distancing itself from what is happening will lead to its salvation from the tongues of fire. On the contrary, wars are prevented by wars, not by avoiding them. The region’s silence or submission has left the arena very empty for those who are able to respond and maneuver to fill and hijack.

For the thousandth time, we say that moderation is a correct moral position, but in politics it requires strength to become a real position, as submission is not called moderation except to remove embarrassment only.