Tomorrow’s first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on southern Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage is a grim milestone. It’s a moment to remember those Israelis, mostly civilians, who were brutally tortured, sexually abused and murdered. It’s a time to imagine, if possible, the agony endured by the hostages’ relatives. Many have since lost their loved ones. About 100 hostages remain unaccounted for. It’s a moment to reflect on – and unreservedly condemn – the unfathomable hatred that led the young Palestinian men of Gaza to perpetrate such appalling, inhuman acts.
The anniversary is also an opportunity to examine the response to the massacre of Israel’s government and people, and of Israel’s friends and enemies. The country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was accused of presiding over an unprecedented security failure. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence agencies also faced harsh criticism. Netanyahu, urged on by his far-right coalition partners and fearing for his job, decided only blood could pay for blood. He vowed, unrealistically, to destroy Hamas. From that decision, many more massacres flowed.
The ensuing IDF invasion of Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including at least 16,000 children. Almost the entire population of the territory is displaced. The basic necessities – food, clean water, shelter, medicines – are in desperately short supply. Generations of young people, those who survive, are traumatised or maimed. Netanyahu and the IDF stand accused of war crimes and Israel of genocide. And yet, while Hamas has suffered eviscerating defeats, it has not been destroyed. Netanyahu’s basic aim remains unfulfilled. There is still no ceasefire.
Israel’s ever-vengeful, flailing government has now turned its attention to Lebanon, from where Iran-backed Hezbollah has bombarded northern Israel since 7 October. Hezbollah’s missiles have displaced thousands. It is entirely reasonable to want to stop them, and action to do so has strong public support. When Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s chief, the country celebrated. Yet once again, Israel’s leaders are over-reaching. Their “limited” military incursion is expanding rapidly. Beirut is under daily fire. Nearly 1,300 Lebanese, mostly civilians, have died. Forced evacuations, creating wastelands, have displaced 1.2 million people. Yet the IDF admits it cannot stop Hezbollah’s rocket fire or say when Israeli residents will return to their homes – ostensibly the operation’s main aim.
Having been terribly wronged, having gained the world’s sympathy, Israel consistently puts itself in the wrong. Its government faces fierce global censure, as seen at the UN general assembly last month. Friends in the UK and Europe are shocked and alienated. Relations with the US, Israel’s main ally and weapons supplier, are at a historical low. Its economy is suffering badly. Antisemitism is on the rise internationally. One year on, Israel is less secure, its people are less safe, it is taking casualties – and now a potentially catastrophic war looms with Iran.
Confronted by all this, Israelis ask, reasonably enough: what would you do? It’s true that any democratic government would struggle to eliminate the threats encircling Israel. It’s true that Hamas had to be punished severely and forcibly dislodged from its perch in Gaza. It’s true that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is urging Islamist jihadist groups to redouble attacks on the Jewish state. But it is also true that, while Israel has a fundamental right to defend itself, it does not have a right to do so over the bodies of thousands of civilians in blatant contravention of international humanitarian law.
No one can argue that the Arab-Israeli conflict (which non-Arab Iran exploits for its own purposes) is anything new. It dates from Israel’s independence in 1948, and its roots go back further still. What is relatively new is the refusal of rightwing governments led by Netanyahu – prime minister for 14 of the past 15 years – to accept or even discuss what the UN, the US, the UK and most countries believe is the only way to resolve this conflict, namely a two-state solution creating an independent Palestinian state. Speaking at the UN last month, Netanyahu aggressively aired Israel’s grievances but failed to address the Palestinian issue.
Palestine is at the core of this crisis. Without progress towards a settlement, any ceasefire in Gaza or Lebanon, or truce with Iran, can only be viewed as temporary. Yet Netanyahu and his fellow hawks persistently misrepresent the situation. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, described it more honestly in his UN speech. “The Israeli prime minister came here today and said that Israel is surrounded by those who want to destroy it,” Safadi said. “We’re here – members of the Muslim-Arab committee, mandated by 57 Arab and Muslim countries – and I can tell you very unequivocally, all of us are willing to guarantee the security of Israel in the context of Israel ending the occupation and allowing for the emergence of a Palestinian state.”
There it is, in black and white. The Arab world is ready to recognise Israel’s right to exist, something it refused to do for decades, if Israel will in turn recognise a sovereign, democratic Palestine coexisting within mutually secure, viable borders. Such a breakthrough would defang Hamas and other hardline groups better than any military campaign ever could. It would deprive Iran’s malign mullahs of their favourite casus belli. It would right a historical injustice – and open the way to normalisation between states across the region. It’s the only credible path to lasting peace. And making peace, starting with an immediate ceasefire, is the best way to honour the 7 October dead.
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