Two years after October 7th: Is there a solution?

When talking about Palestine and Israel, polarization explodes. Even more so in recent times. Of course, we're not talking about trivial matters, but about a very harsh conflict that has generated enormous amounts of brutality and suffering. However, it's incomprehensible that there are such distant positions when it shouldn't be so difficult to establish a minimally shared foundation. The second anniversary of the attacks of October 7, 2023, is a good time to recap and raise five points that could—should—be sufficiently shared by all those who truly want human rights to be respected and progress toward peace.

1. The massacre perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups was brutal: 1,200 people—800 of them civilians—were killed and 5,400 were injured. In addition, 251 were kidnapped—about fifty of whom, two years later, are still far from home. Even those who favor armed struggle as a form of resistance against oppressive situations know the difference between fighting armed groups—those responsible for and perpetrators of oppression—and attacking the civilian population. But beyond the deaths and kidnappings, we must also value and understand October 7th for the profound emotional impact (distrust, fear, anguish, etc.) it generated in Israeli society. And, incidentally, how this clash has caused even more Israelis to disengage from Gaza, the Palestinians, and a just and peaceful solution.

2. Israel's actions during these two years surpass all imagination and amount to an immense catalog of war crimes and crimes against humanity: 67,000 dead (of which 17,000 were children), 170,000 wounded, and 85% of the population displaced. Ninety-two percent of homes and residential units are affected; 34 of the 36 hospitals attacked; 370 aid workers murdered; 455 people have already died of starvation. The level of dehumanization with which Israel has treated Palestinians is not only radically intolerable but absolutely unsustainable. The horror suffered in Gaza has not only overwhelmed the indignation of many people around the world, but has also ended up shaming former Israeli government and military officials and has been roundly rejected by a segment of Israeli society, not the majority but also not irrelevant.

3. Despite the importance of what happened two years ago, and what has happened during these two years, we must keep in mind that the conflict did not originate from October 7th. It is absurd to want to make us believe that before October 7th, 2023, everything was a bed of roses and that it was because of Hamas's attacks that the conflict erupted. No, we must be serious. For decades and decades, a conflict has generated many wars, violence, human rights violations, and loss of human lives.

4. Any solution to this terrible situation requires addressing the underlying causes of the conflict and not ignoring them by constantly kicking the can down the road. And the central issue to focus on, address, and resolve is the occupation of the Palestinian territories established in the United Nations partition proposal. These are decades of humiliation, discrimination, and marginalization of Palestinians, and of colonization and usurpation of their territory. It's worth remembering that in 1947, the United Nations and the international community proposed the creation of two states. Although the Israeli state was created in 1948, almost eighty years later, the Palestinian state is still not a reality, and even some colonial powers, key to the emergence and development of the conflict, have only just begun to recognize the Palestinian state—and in a more symbolic than real way. The Israeli government's intention to occupy the entire territory of historic Palestine, leaving Palestinians with only two options, whether to remain and accept apartheid or to flee and die, is increasingly evident—both explicit and public. And with this project of making a free Palestinian state impossible, peace is unviable.

5. Political solutions and peace proposals, though difficult and complex, are diverse: two states, a single binational state, a confederation, etc. But any political solution, any peace agreement, any institutional design must start from a fundamental point: Jews and Arabs must be able to live their lives without oppression, exclusion, violence, and threats, with security and confidence, and with full respect for the human rights of all.