Israel-Palestine: Back to square one

Yeah the agreement reached between Israel and HamaIt is respected, it will mean the end of two years of an unequal war, but it will also mark, according to Donald Trump, the beginning of a second phase of negotiations that are more complicated than those of the first phase. The most difficult issue on the table is the disarmament of the Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip, starting with Hamas. The Islamist organization has already said it will only lay down its weapons if there is an agreement for the creation of a Palestinian state, involving all the territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 war, that is, the West Bank, with East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

But Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated for the past two years, and before as well, that he in no way foresees the creation of a Palestinian state. This means that negotiations cannot even begin, or they will begin symbolically, but will not progress because both sides have diametrically opposed objectives.

Neither Hamas nor Israel seem willing to give in. In this context, the point of reference for both parties, and especially for the mediators, should be the UN Security Council resolutions, which favor the creation of a Palestinian state. However, the problem is that Israel does not accept international law, and historically, the community of nations has done nothing to implement Security Council resolutions.

It is evident that if the international community wants to resolve the conflict, it should send clear signals in this regard. This is particularly true for the United States, because only a forceful intervention by Washington against Israel could resolve a situation that has been complicated for more than a century, reaching such a point of despair that pessimism negatively influences and conditions the future.

Settlements in the West Bank

The central question is whether a president like Donald Trump has the room for maneuver and the will to resolve the conflict, given that Netanyahu is sending more settlers to the West Bank every day, and that the occupied sector of Jerusalem is changing its appearance daily due to Jewish construction projects and the plundering of Palestinian lands.

If the international community does not act decisively, and if President Trump does not force Netanyahu to respect the Palestinian minority, an agreement will hardly be possible. And that outlook will not change as long as Prime Minister Netanyahu remains in power. He himself tirelessly says and repeats that he will in no way allow the creation of a Palestinian state.

On the other hand, it is no secret that a clear majority of Israelis do not want a two-state solution. As for the Knesset, there is also a large majority of parliamentarians who reject this idea. Not only parliamentarians from the governing coalition, but also opposition MPs, so the two-state solution neither has nor will have a majority in Parliament.

This situation makes disarming Hamas militias very difficult. The Islamist organization will only give up its weapons in a situation that has no chance of materializing; therefore, this problem from the last century will remain the same from now on.