Adel Attia: The absence of a political horizon and the failure of the two-state solution pushed the Palestinian people to search for other options

Dr. Muhammad Bu Taleb: The Al-Aqsa Flood contributed to the advancement of the Palestinian cause and brought it out of stagnation and into painful action for the opponent

Hani Al-Gamal: The events of October 7th brought about a major change in the Middle East

Dr. Riad Al-Aila: This war has surpassed the brutality of World War II, as Israel continues its destruction and massacres.

Ziad Al-Hamouri: October 7 was a decisive turning point that thwarted attempts to exterminate the Palestinian people and confuse the political cards in the world

Wadih Abu Nassar: October 7 brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront, but expanding the circle of conflict led to its neutralization once again

Writers and political analysts agreed that the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa brought the Palestinian cause back to the center of global attention after long years of marginalization and neglect, after Israel succeeded in turning the peace process it began with the Palestinian side into a real maze, from which they cannot escape, and without any horizon for establishing a Palestinian state under an extremist right-wing government that does not recognize any kind of political rights for the Palestinian people, and begrudges them limited self-rule.

They pointed out that the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa, which entered its second year yesterday, Monday, and despite the heavy losses inflicted on the Palestinian people in terms of the numbers of martyrs, wounded, missing, displaced, and the destruction of buildings, institutions, infrastructure, and others, brought the Palestinian cause out of oblivion, and reshaped the features of the region and even the world, by making the Palestinian cause a point of conflict between two global axes: an axis of evil that supports Israel and its crimes and supports them with politics and weapons, and an axis that stands by the Palestinian right as a collective human cause as much as it is a Palestinian and Arab cause.

Lack of political horizon

Palestinian diplomat Adel Attia told “Y”: What happened on October 7 of last year was the result of the absence of a political horizon, and Israel’s failure to implement all attempts to implement the two-state solution, which prompted the Palestinian people to search for other options, and this led to the operations carried out by the resistance.

Attia explained that the political situation in Israel today does not qualify it to accept the two-state solution, stressing that the extremist Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli public opinion that is skewed towards the far right, categorically reject this solution.

He added that the international community, especially the European Union, has not shown any signs of changing its traditional strategy or adopting a more effective approach towards implementing the two-state solution.

He pointed out that the political situation in Europe now does not call for optimism, as the European Union countries are still divided; some countries adopt the Israeli narrative, others support the Palestinian narrative, while some countries remain neutral without taking a decisive position.

Division in the positions of the European Union countries

Attia explained that the division of the European Union countries limits their ability to play an effective role in pushing towards a two-state solution, despite their possession of sufficient tools to exert pressure on Israel.

He stressed that the European Union lacks political will, especially in light of the penetration of the right and the far right into European institutions, which makes it more inclined towards Israeli positions.

He pointed out that the European Union, over the course of thirty years, has provided financial support to build the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, but has not taken any real measures to stop the Israeli policies that hinder the establishment of a Palestinian state, such as settlements, land confiscation, ethnic cleansing and the erection of barriers. The European Union has contented itself with issuing statements condemning Israel’s practices without taking practical steps to stop those policies.

Attia expressed his regret that the two-state solution is far from reality in light of the current political formations in Israel and the European Union, in addition to the upcoming US elections. Despite this, Attia stressed that the two-state solution is still possible if the European Union adopts a more effective and practical strategy towards implementing this solution.

Israel's ugly face and its anti-peace project revealed

For his part, the writer and analyst in political sociology, Dr. Muhammad Najib Bou Taleb, told “Y”: Despite the destruction that occurred and despite the genocide carried out by the occupation army in Gaza, Israel’s ugly face and its project that is against peace and coexistence with a possible Palestinian state have been revealed to Israel’s supporters.

He added: "The Al-Aqsa Flood also revealed to the new generations of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims the truth of what they studied, read in books and heard about."

Bou Taleb stressed that what happened at dawn on October 7 and what followed only renewed the spirit of resistance and supported it morally, and the majority of people rejected the stubborn occupation despite its forceful presence on the land of Palestine for seventy-six years.

The Tunisian analyst explained that this will establish a new spirit in resistance and in the methods of Palestinian national struggle towards its cause.

On the other hand, Bou Taleb pointed out that the Israeli political front suffers from divisions, in addition to the shaking of the structure of Israeli society, which was based on immigration.

Reverse migration from Israel

“We are now facing a counter-migration and the emptying of the State of Israel of its immigrant population under the influence of Zionist propaganda, and the reason is October 7,” he said, stressing that “this is happening slowly and in a dark way, but it will have an impact in the future, and it will be a prelude to new, more rapid trends in building the Palestinian state and recognizing it, its people, and its sovereignty, by force and without favor, because the opponent is calculating. In addition to that, the world is prepared today politically and morally to accept this and achieve it practically.”

Bou Taleb considered that this destabilizing event contributed to the advancement of the Palestinian cause and its exit from stagnation and cheap deals to the reality of real action that hurts the arrogant opponent, and returned it to its truth and showed it to itself and to the world that it is like any other small entity, its strength governed by the shadow of those who protect it and achieve the interests of the West in the region by destroying any renaissance and unity project in it.

He stressed that this achievement depends on the ability of Palestinian and Arab leaderships to invest in opportunities and change work strategies away from dependency and divisions.

Bou Taleb stressed that achieving historical accomplishments does not happen overnight, but rather requires patience, will, and continuous work, pointing out that the establishment of the Palestinian state will not be achieved by slogans, but rather by hard work and national solidarity, and this is what the people of Jabbarin have accustomed us to.

Emergence of new ideologies and projects

Egyptian political analyst Hani Al-Gamal said: The events of October 7 of last year caused a major change in the Middle East region.

He pointed out that the region is now witnessing the emergence of new ideologies and projects, focusing on targeting the Palestinian resistance, especially Hamas, and trying to reduce its influence by targeting its leaders and strangling it on various levels.

Al-Jamal added to “Y”: Israel seeks to transform the Hamas movement from a jihadist resistance movement into a political party under the umbrella of the Fatah movement, pointing to the possibility of holding meetings between the two movements in the future to achieve this goal, especially in light of the Israeli security grip on the Gaza Strip and its ongoing attempts to destroy the resistance infrastructure.

He explained that Israel has expanded its operations to include targeting the resistance's allies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, some armed factions in Syria and Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.

He pointed out that this Israeli strategy aims to strangle the support fronts on which the Palestinian resistance depends.

Regarding Hezbollah, Al-Jamal pointed out that the party was subjected to painful blows by Israel as a result of a security and intelligence breach.

He explained that there are trends to reactivate the Security Council resolutions related to Hezbollah and its weapons, which may redraw the balance of power in Lebanon and open the door to a political solution to the conflict in the country, including the election of a new president for Lebanon.

The normalization project faces some challenges

In his speech, Al-Jamal addressed the normalization project within the framework of the "Abraham Accords", stressing that this project is facing some challenges, as some Arab countries link the normalization of their relations with Israel to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, establishing a Palestinian state, and the two-state solution.

He added: Any progress in this file will not be achieved except through strong Arab pressure on the United States and Israel, and normalization will not be free until the two-state solution is achieved, which according to the Arab and Islamic group is the best solution for the region.

Al-Jamal pointed out that the United States remains the main player in these transformations, whether under the Biden administration or if Trump returns to power.

He stressed that the future of the new Middle East depends on the geopolitical transformations taking place in the region, including the growing Iranian role and Israeli threats against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Al-Jamal warned that the continuation of tensions in the region could lead to the outbreak of a large-scale regional war, especially with the increase in extremism in Israel and the possibility of the collapse of the Israeli state and reverse migration due to these internal and external tensions, stressing that the International Criminal Court may find an opportunity to take action against Israeli leaders, such as Benjamin Netanyahu, but the American role remains decisive in determining the course of events.

Major changes at the local, regional and international levels

In turn, Dr. Riad Al-Aila, Professor of Political Science at Al-Azhar University, told “I”: The passing of a year since the events of October 7 and the Israeli war of extermination against the Palestinian people has led to major changes at the local, regional and international levels.

He explained that these changes were led by peoples who reject genocide, from the United States of America to the peoples of Latin American countries and the European Union, in addition to some European governments that demanded that the Palestinian people be granted their right to live in peace in their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He said: The massive destruction left behind by the war of extermination, in which more than 220,000 Palestinians lost their lives, were injured or went missing, most of them children, women and the elderly, did not move the feelings of some Arab rulers or the American administration, which continued to provide weapons to Israel and support it politically by using the veto power to abort international resolutions calling for an end to the war.

Al-Aila added: This war exceeded in its brutality the war of extermination in World War II, as Israel continued to destroy cities and camps over the heads of civilians and supported massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Expanding the war to include Lebanon, Yemen and Syria

He pointed out that this war has expanded to include Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, which has negatively affected the project of establishing an independent Palestinian state, as regional and international governments have been preoccupied with the war instead of focusing on achieving a political solution.

In this context, Al-Aila stressed the need to stop the war of ethnic extermination immediately, and the need to demand that the US administration stop sending weapons used in the extermination of the Palestinian people, and to call on European countries to stop exporting weapons, similar to the French and Spanish positions, and to end the Palestinian division and work to achieve national unity in the face of this war, in a way that guarantees the realization of the dream of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Al-Aila stressed that achieving these goals requires a unified Palestinian position and avoiding any external interventions that do not serve the Palestinian cause, stressing the importance of restoring national unity under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

October 7th is a global turning point

In turn, Jerusalemite political analyst Ziad Al-Hamouri confirmed to “Y” that what happened on October 7 was a major turning point, not only on the local level, but on the global level, as the Palestinian issue became the most prominent issue in the world.

He added that the repercussions resulting from this event will have a future impact on resolving the Palestinian issue and restoring rights to their owners, pointing out that the Israeli plans, which began in 1948, are now facing major failure.

Al-Hamouri explained that October 7 was a decisive turning point in thwarting attempts to exterminate the Palestinian people, considering that the current events will bring the Palestinians closer to establishing their independent state.

He added that victory in the current war will be an indicator of the future of the Palestinian cause, despite the challenges it faces at the international level.

Al-Hamouri pointed to the divisions within the European Union and the upcoming US elections as factors influencing the political path, but he stressed that what happened on October 7 shuffled the political cards at the global level.

Impact of protests in Europe and the United States

He said that protests and pressures within the United States and Europe began to affect governments, reflecting a major change in the colonial system that supported Israel.

He pointed out that these global variables will take time to crystallize, but they pave the way for new transformations in the future in favor of the Palestinian cause.

Al-Hamouri stressed that the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples are paying the price, along with the resistance peoples who are seeking liberation from the occupation, which shows the extent of the sacrifices made by these peoples in order to achieve their freedom and legitimate rights.

All eyes are on the possibility of a major war in the region.

Israeli affairs expert Wadih Abu Nassar told Al-Monitor that the October 7 attacks, despite bringing the Palestinian issue back to the forefront, were limited.

He added: Expanding the circle of conflict to include Lebanon, Iran and a number of regional countries has once again led to the neutralization of the Palestinian issue, as attention has become more focused on the possibility of a major war breaking out in the region, with the international community focusing on the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

Abu Nassar explained that the Palestinian issue, despite its return to international attention at first, does not seem any closer to a solution today than it was before October 7, pointing to several reasons that hinder its progress; the first of which is that the current right-wing Israeli government feels that it is above international law, and does not face any serious pressure from either Arab countries or international powers to push it towards a political solution.

The impact of political division

The second, according to Abu Nassar, is the continuation of the internal division among the Palestinians on the political and visionary levels, which weakens their position in seeking their rights.

He added: The absence of serious pressure from either Arab countries or the international community further complicates the situation.

He continued: With the expansion of the conflict to include countries such as Lebanon and Iran, the Palestinian issue has once again receded from the center of attention, especially with the escalation of tensions in the region during the past few weeks, noting that October 7th brought the Palestinian issue back to the table, but the situation got out of control with the expansion of the circle of conflict in the region.