Muhammad al-Qeeq
Middle East Eye / February 6, 2025
The Gaza truce is a golden opportunity for all parties to reach a deal for a Palestinian state, which would benefit all neighbouring Arab countries
After Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed the Oslo Accords in 1993 – allowing the US to give a veneer of legitimacy to its allies in Tel Aviv – a maze of negotiations ensued, which ultimately went nowhere.
It was as though the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) had become stuck in a dark tunnel, failing to achieve its primary goals with regards to sovereignty, borders and geographic connectivity.
It later became clear that those involved wanted only partial solutions to the Palestinian issue, excluding key issues such as the status of Jerusalem and refugees.
After the Camp David talks in 2000, when then-US President Bill Clinton brought together the leaders of Israel and Palestine for further negotiations, the process collapsed utterly. Israel approached the talks in bad faith, never seeking a genuine solution – but the US used their collapse as an excuse to internationally isolate the Palestinian people.
The Second Intifada followed soon afterwards, spurred by Israeli politician Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The policy of partial solutions continued for years afterwards, as Palestinian national aspirations were repeatedly sidelined. This has been the long-term American approach to the issue.
When former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat insisted on completing the Oslo process and giving Palestinians a sovereign state, he was smeared as a “terrorist”, and became a target for assassination.
Expansionist ambitions
The US makes such distinctions not on the basis of international standards, but rather according to what suits Israel’s security interests. In every era, Israel has carefully manufactured its enemies, portraying them as the sole obstacle to peace. The goal is to avoid any genuine political solution to the conflict.
Today, we are witnessing a dramatic escalation of this policy, as Israel, backed by the US, creates new realities on the ground to further dispossess the Palestinian people. To this end, Israel uses land confiscation, settlement expansion, expulsion of Palestinians, and further divisions of territory in the occupied West Bank.
Since Arafat’s death, Israel has portrayed Hamas as its existential enemy, and the main opponent of regional peace. But the truth is, Israel has never wanted a peaceful solution; it wants free rein to continue its expansionist policies.
In this regard, the weakness and silence of regional Arab states has enabled Israel, giving it a green light to continue subjugating the Palestinian people.
The shelved 2002 Arab Peace Initiative – which would have required Arab normalisation with Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state – was further evidence that regional leaders were not interested in permanent solutions for the Palestinian people. A number of Arab countries have since moved ahead with normalisation regardless, while the Palestinian issue remains unaddressed.
Israel has launched repeated wars on Gaza and invasions of the occupied West Bank, while working to Judaise the holy city of Jerusalem. Reinforced by the US, and particularly President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” and his ethnic cleansing plans, all of this has served the notion of an expanding Israel and a vanishing Palestine.
Today, amid a desperately needed ceasefire in Gaza, it is more urgent than ever that this leads to a comprehensive political solution. It must not be just another temporary truce.
This is a golden opportunity for all parties involved to reach a deal for a Palestinian state, which would benefit all neighbouring Arab countries – especially Jordan, Syria and Lebanon – by curbing Israel’s expansionist ambitions.
It’s also a chance to put the Palestinian house in order, and renew the legitimacy of its leadership through fresh elections and a consensus government with jurisdiction stretching from Gaza to the occupied West Bank.
A comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue could spare the region further conflict and instability. The alternative is to wait for a new round of confrontation, which would be exacerbated by Trump’s latest plans for ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s population.
Muhammad al-Qeeq is a journalist and political analyst; He was arrested several times by the Israeli occupation forces and went on hunger strike three times to protest his arrest, the longest of which was for 94 days
