Let us be realistic: Arab states with ties to Israel will not cut them. Countries hosting U.S. military bases will not shut them down. Egypt will not withdraw from its gas import agreement. Mahmoud Abbas will not step down from power in Ramallah. These are heavy political prices, and even if such sacrifices were made, neither the countries involved nor the Palestinians would gain real concessions or victories in return. Nothing of this sort will happen. Expectations should be based on what is politically achievable, not on unrealistic propositions.
Next week, the United Nations headquarters will witness stormy sessions under the headline of a “two-state solution.” This will continue as part of an international effort to rally support for the Saudi initiative, which seeks to establish Palestine as a legal state entity – even if Israel rejects it.
Instead of severing ties and shutting bases, it is wiser for these Arab states to support the growing momentum toward making the two-state solution an urgent, internationally backed demand – supported even by Israel’s allies and friends, as seen with France, and promised by Britain and Germany.
History shows that peaceful diplomatic initiatives bring tangible results, unlike militant groups or war rhetoric. Camp David restored all of Sinai and the Suez Canal to Egypt, providing nearly half a century of peace and stability. Oslo, despite its flaws, enabled thousands of Palestinians to return from exile in Tunisia and Yemen to the West Bank. Without it, talk of a Palestinian state might not have been possible.
In contrast, the armed organisations – Hamas, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front, Abu Abbas’s hijacking faction, Abu Nidal, and their allies from Japan’s Red Army to Italy’s Red Brigades – achieved nothing lasting. Nor did regimes that thrived on promises of military confrontation, like Saddam, Assad, and Gaddafi, manage to liberate a single inch of Palestine.
Today, with Hezbollah, Iran, the Houthis, and other extremist camps suffering setbacks, rational thinking about salvaging the Palestinian cause may gain ground.
What about Israel? Netanyahu’s lack of commitment is no surprise. His attack on Doha fits the pattern. The October 7 aftermath still drives Israel’s foreign policy, even two years on. Militarily, Israel has shown overwhelming strength, forcing Iran – once thought to have vast missile and militia power – to retreat into statements.
Israel prefers military confrontations. Wars are its home turf, where its superiority is unquestioned. Politics, however, unsettles it for two reasons: even with U.S. backing, it cannot guarantee full support in carefully framed diplomatic battles; and Israeli society itself is unified behind military strikes – the Doha attack, unjustified as it was, still won overwhelming public approval. Many Israelis overlooked that Qatar had been working toward a peaceful resolution and the release of hostages the war could not free.
Yet political proposals like the two-state solution will find some resonance within Israeli society, and likely more over time. Such a solution offers security guarantees instead of Netanyahu’s endless wars – real assurance for Israelis that prevents another October 7.
Netanyahu’s military successes have failed to translate into political achievement. From Gaza to Lebanon, from Iran to now Doha, he achieves battlefield victories without resolving the core conflict. Without a political solution, risks will persist.
If Arab states unite behind a single project, leveraging their diverse capabilities, the chances of a political settlement will increase – delivering a Palestinian state, peace for Israelis, and recognition for Israel across the Arab and Islamic world. Such unity would also strip extremists of their justifications for violence.
We now stand at the threshold of a new stage. Netanyahu has crushed his enemies militarily, but in doing so, he has eroded the very claim of occupation as a source of Israel’s security and stability.
[by Abdulrahman Al-Rashed in Asharq Al-Awsat]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque
