After more than a month, the rate at which events in Gaza are unfolding continues to pick up momentum. None of the parties involved in the crisis can predict when or how the crisis will end or what the long-term effects will. But those who follow this brutal war pause at a few pivotal developments, the most notable of which is that Israel chose to carry out its ground operation of killing and destruction in defiance of all laws and external reactions in order to achieve the stated objective it set out to achieve: dismantling Hamas’ military structure and ending its rule over the Gaza Strip at a time when the Palestinian resistance is making every effort to thwart these operations.
In their recent war against the Gaza Strip, Israel has shown that no targets are off-limits to them. This includes hospitals, religious institutions, and refugee camps. As such, we should brace ourselves for the worst over the next few days, particularly since efforts to achieve a humanitarian truce that is merely temporary will require extraordinary efforts.
Despite the ongoing conflict, I believe it is my responsibility to highlight a few key points that could prove useful at present and in the future. In my view, all involved parties must give them serious thought. Among these, the following are the most crucial points:
I. There will be no peace in the region or security for Israel unless and until the Palestinian cause is resolved in a fair and comprehensive manner and a Palestinian state is established. Regardless of the extent, profundity, or scope of Israel’s normalization with Arab countries, it will never bring Israel the security it seeks.
II. Egypt views the Palestinian cause as a matter of national security. As such, it has taken action from the outset to not only contain the situation, mediate a ceasefire, and augment aid, but also to underscore the principles it upholds, which include the renunciation of collective punishment, forced displacement, and the murder of civilians.
III. The proposition to resettle Palestinians in Sinai is not merely the product of Israeli think tanks or unofficial and official statements; it is an integral component of initiatives that may be executed if Egypt does not resolutely oppose them. Furthermore, Egypt undoubtedly possesses the capacity to confront any threats to its national security.
IV. Israel is largely held accountable for undermining the Palestinian Authority and its institutions.
V. The continued vulnerability of Arab national security to regional threats will persist so long as the Arab stance fails to address the perils confronting it with the necessary seriousness.
VI. Subsequent Israeli governments that neglected the peace process will have to bear the consequences of their actions, but more significantly, they will need to draw lessons from the Gaza crisis, which has shown that relying solely on the security factor is not sufficient.
VII. One of the main factors that contributed to the Palestinian situation generally reaching this worsening state was the catastrophe of the Palestinian division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which took place more than 15 years ago.
VIII. The United States, which we had hoped would be, as it had been, a full partner in the peace process, has, by its unwavering alignment with Israel, turned into a collaborator in the downfall of the peace process as a whole and even a collaborator in the events in Gaza.
IX. European and global organizations that are content with denunciations and appeals cannot be relied upon to take a stand. In fact, a number of countries in Western Europe have stated that they support the Israeli operations.
Perhaps one significant ramification of this war is that some countries and international think tanks have started to engage in lengthy discussions about what will happen to the Gaza Strip and who will rule there once hostilities cease. It is as though the world community has forgotten that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank constitute the two halves of the Palestinian state and cannot be divided in any settlement.
When it comes to handling the current state of affairs, the Egyptian leadership appears to be navigating a minefield. Egypt refused to allow the Palestinian cause to devolve into a humanitarian one. Driven by its historical responsibility, it hurriedly organized the October 21 Cairo Peace Summit, where President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi was eager to distill an integrated road map out of the entire crisis, which included the resumption of political negotiations that would lead to a two-state solution and the introduction of aid through pacification and a ceasefire.
Notwithstanding the magnitude of the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, the international community continues to observe its progression from a spectator’s standpoint, expressing merely disapproval of the deliberate, daily slaughter of the defenseless Palestinian populace. The United States and the international community must accept their responsibilities and abandon the double standards policy to accomplish the following three objectives:
1. Putting pressure on Israel to halt the daily massacres of civilians who are paying the price for defending their land, whether through a humanitarian truce or an immediate ceasefire.
2. Stepping up humanitarian aid delivery until it reaches every area of the Strip, with an emphasis on assisting hospitals that are able to reopen and putting an end to forced displacement.
3. Reviving the Palestinian cause as soon as the situation stabilizes by resuming talks and implementing the two-state solution in order to avoid another tragedy of this magnitude in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
