Some Thoughts on a Palestinian State and Free Palestine

Western European countries like France condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and advocate for a Palestinian state as a step toward regional integration, the implication being that Israel’s actions are an impediment to peace, and that a two-state agreement is the solution. Unfortunately, this is far from the reality—and France knows it or should know it.

The Hamas opposition to peace is clearly outlined in their covenant, and affirmed by their actions on October 7, 2023, as well as since then. They are committed to killing Jews and destroying Israel. To this day, they still have made no concessions—refusing to unconditionally free Israeli hostages or halt their rocket attacks on Israel when they can fire them. It should be clear that, had Hamas not committed the atrocities of Oct 7, and continued fighting since then, there would have been no suffering of the Gaza population. Even if they were to stop their war on Israel today, the situation for Gazans would improve overnight. But they refuse. One wonders why France deliberately glossed over the heinous Hamas conduct while only highlighting Israels’ response to the Hamas attack in their declarations.

The proposal to establish a Palestinian state overlooks the current realities on the ground. The Iranian, Qatar and Houthis regimes support and empower Hamas, fostering calls and actions aimed at Israel’s destruction. In addition, the predominant pro-Palestinian voices emphasize the slogan “Free Palestine,” or “From the River to the Sea” which calls for dismantling Israel rather than pursuing a negotiated two-state solution as a peaceful resolution to the Arab Israeli conflict. This environment does not foster the conditions conducive to rapprochement.

There are further problems with the call for a Palestinian state. It ignores the present existence of two and a potential third Palestinian regime. The first is on the West Bank, run by the Palestinian Authority (PA). It is true that the PA has limited authority. But even within its limited responsibilities, it is doing a terrible job. Corruption and incompetence are rampant. There is no free press or judiciary. Today, in its present form, even if they are in favor of a negotiated peace agreement, it is not evident that they have the competence to bear that responsibility. Furthermore, their legitimacy is questionable. The last time Palestinian national elections took place were in 2005 and 2006 – 19 long years ago. And finally, were they to reach a compromise agreement with Israel, and Israel were to make concessions, Hamas has already announced that it would reject any peace agreement. A reliable peace agreement therefore is unattainable with only the PA.

There is also second Palestinian state – Gaza, which has been run by Hamas since 2007 with the last time elections were held being in 2006 again 19 long years ago. In terms of providing for their civilian citizens, prior to Oct 2023, rather than prioritize civilian needs, Hamas diverted (hijacked) resources earmarked for reconstruction and development projects in Gaza funded by the EU and trucked in by Israel, to build the most extensive underground military infrastructure ever built. Why isn’t Western Europe doing everything it can to help defeat Hamas? If not, at least refrain from interfering with Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas.

There is yet a third option for a Palestinian state – Jordan. Out of a population of 13 million, there are approximately 2 to 2.5 million Palestinians. Unfortunately, as they have conducted themselves in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Israel, the Palestinians in Jordan resorted to violence. Fighting within Jordan in 1970-71 the Black September Palestinian groups fought the the Jordanian government. The fighting culminated in a civil war-like situation, with the Jordanian government, led by King Hussein, who fought to regain control over the country and then clamped down on Palestinian armed groups operating within Jordan. Thousands of Palestinians were killed or expelled from the country during the conflict. Only after succeeding in disarming the Jordanian Palestinians resistance was the Jordanian government willing to pursue reconciliation. Today, law abiding peace minded Palestinians in Jordan generally enjoy a relatively stable and integrated presence within the country.

Just as a point of reference: there are approximately 2 million Israeli Arabs, who are also of Palestinian descent. Despite facing Arab enemies, Israeli Arabs enjoy full rights. Furthermore, when compared to Palestinians in the West Bank under the PA, in Gaza under Hamas, and in Jordan under the Hashemite Kingdom, Israeli Arabs are generally better off financially and possess more civil rights than Palestinians elsewhere. In fact, they have more civil rights than Arabs in the entire Muslim and Arab world.

If Pro Palestinians are sincerely interested in supporting the Palestinian cause (as opposed to promoting Israel’s destruction), they should know that promoting a free Palestine will only undermine their intentions. After all, why should Israelis willingly agree to self-destruct?

Pro-Palestinians could help the cause by helping the Palestinians internally clarify their aspirations.

1. Establish who is the official and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people? The PA? Hamas? Something else?
2. What sort of Palestine are we talking about? Will there be a free press and judiciary? How will opponents to the government be treated?  What about the rights of women and minority groups? As things appear now with Hamas and to a certain extent with the PA, the leadership is striving for an Iranian like ruthless type authoritarian repressive regime. Aside that type of regime not benefiting its citizens, Israel is in no position to tolerate an emboldened authoritarian potentially hostile regime next door.
3. Will it declare a priori that it wants to live beside Israel in permanent peace?

Until October 7, 2023, the Israeli public was divided between those who opposed reconciliation with the Palestinians and those who were in favor of “Giving peace a chance”. One of the direct consequences of the Oct 7 atrocities is that there has been a complete shift in views on the left side of the Israeli political map. Most Israelis for now oppose establishment of a Palestinian state. Aside from the horrors of the atrocities committed, one additional reason is that some of the communities assaulted by Hamas were composed of people with strong sympathies for the plight of the Palestinians who were nevertheless deliberately massacred. Their sympathetic view of the plight of the Palestinians changed after the massacre. The vast majority of Israelis now no longer trust the Palestinians nor believe that the Palestinians really want peace. Calls for Free Palestine by pro-Palestinians reaffirms Israeli mistrust.

Israelis, for the most part, believe that the onus should be on the Palestinian establishment, and not Western Europe, to seek peace with Israel. Historically, the Palestinians have never initiated an implementable peace proposal. Israelis believe that until there is a distinct turn around in the Palestinian camp which will change to prioritize the wellbeing of the Palestinians over commitment to the destruction of Israel, that regrettably, there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides. For some strange reason some Western European countries prefer to minimize and play down the extreme and inflexible character of the Pro-Palestinian stance. Countries such as France should be applying pressure primarily on Hamas, Iran and Qatar to reject promulgating anti-Israel policies and instead persuade then to promote reconciliation with Israel. It can be presumed that the French are not taking such action, partly because they recognize that many on the other side are still not prepared to accept Israel. The French and others seem to prefer ostensibly appear well-meaning rather than directly confronting one main core issue: the acceptance of Israel.