The Lost Opportunity for A just End to the Palestinian Cause

7 نوفمبر 2023
The Lost Opportunity for A just End to the Palestinian Cause

Dr. Reda Btoush
The ongoing war on Palestinians, led by the Zionist occupation and supported mainly by the West, particularly the United States, is both unethical and inhumane. It can be accurately characterized as a brutal and unjustified act, resembling a genocide. The Israeli Zionists have transformed the Gaza Strip from an open prison into a concentration camp, where they brutally slaughter Palestinians on a daily basis since October 7, 2023.
This war exposes the dark side of the Zionist movement. A member of the Israeli cabinet has proposed the use of a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, a clear reflection of the barbaric mindset prevalent among Zionists, and a viewpoint that deserves condemnation. This approach to the conflict may encourage militants to resort to weapons of mass effects in response, perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence.
The conflict with the Zionist occupation revolves around fundamental issues of rights, existence, and identity, for which Palestinians are paying a heavy price. They cling to the hope for a better future.
This war has the potential to escalate into a region-wide conflict, bringing bloodshed and destabilization to the entire region if left uncontained. It may lead to a protracted war of attrition, with the primary losers being the United States, its allies, and undoubtedly, the Zionist occupation. Sooner or later, the Palestinians are likely to emerge as victorious. In parallel, Iran and its militant groups will also claim a victorious stance, expanding their influence and posing a threat to the political systems of some Middle Eastern Arab countries. However, the pressing question is, where do the vital interests of the Arab nation lie in this complex situation?
The Israeli occupation’s primary political objective, discernible through an analysis of the Zionist occupation authority’s actions since Israel’s establishment, is to resolve the Palestinian cause at the expense of neighboring countries, notably Jordan and Egypt. This political objective becomes glaringly evident in the current war that Israel is waging on Gaza. The question that requires an answer is whether this political objective is achievable in today’s prevailing strategic environment, where the vital interests of international and regional players come into play. The resounding answer is no, for a multitude of reasons that I will elaborate on later.
The Palestinians have lost hope for peace, primarily due to the expansion of Israeli colonial settlements. This expansion has effectively killed the prospects of a two-state solution and blocked all political and legal avenues for reaching such a resolution. All this has occurred while the international community, sadly, turns a blind eye to the situation over many years. Regrettably, the United States has played a deliberate role in undermining and obstructing the international will to achieve a fair, comprehensive, and enduring peace for the Palestinian cause.
For 75 years, the Palestinians have been waiting for a glimmer of hope and the triumph of justice. However, the Zionist occupation has subjected them to harsh conditions. Their land is confiscated by settlers with government support, their people are subjected to daily humiliation at gunpoint in checkpoints, and thousands are imprisoned or killed in cold blood. They are entirely deprived of basic human needs, human rights, and any semblance of a social life. All these atrocities happened to them despite their commitment to the political process, under the auspices of the United States. This is precisely what led to the events of October 7, 2023. Let’s not deceive ourselves; the Israeli occupation must shoulder full responsibility for the crisis they have caused, which threatens to destabilize the entire region.
Returning to the Israeli Occupation’s political objective of “liquidating the Palestinian issue at the expense of neighboring countries,” an unattainable goal for several reasons:
1. There is a high likelihood of a military strategy failure. To succeed in any military strategy, three fundamental components come into play: Ends, Ways, and Means. These components answer the question: What is the concept of operation that can be developed to deploy resources to achieve specific goals? These components need to be balanced; otherwise, operations risk falling into what is known as “Mission creep,” which inevitably leads to strategy failure. This is exactly the case with the Israeli military strategy, where these components are unbalanced.
2. Uprooting the Islamic movements in the Gaza Strip, mainly Hamas, is a significant military strategy objective, but it is a challenging task. Hamas is an ideology that is difficult to eradicate. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces face significant challenges in what is referred to as asymmetric warfare. This type of warfare involves conflicts between belligerents with notably different levels of military power, strategy, or tactics. In this context, Israeli forces are required to engage in combat in densely populated cities and camps.

3. The ambiguity strategy pursued by Iran and its strong arm (Hezbollah) forces Israel to deploy part of its elite forces to cover the northern front with Hezbollah. This allocation comes at the expense of resources that could be deployed to the Gaza front, as well as forces dedicated to security operations in the West Bank. This situation will lead to a mission creep in its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
4. Media outlets broadcasting from Gaza and other locations have played an increasingly pivotal role in reshaping international public opinion in favor of our Palestinian brothers. This shift in public opinion may pressure the Zionist government and its supportive governments to halt the ongoing war.
5. The repercussions stemming from the October 7th operation will likely topple the fascist government in Tel Aviv. It will not take long, as it presents the fastest path to end the war and negotiate prisoners’ exchange. A growing division between the political and military levels, mounting public pressure for prisoners’ exchange, and the severe economic consequences will make it increasingly difficult to sustain military operations in the Gaza Strip.