After the initial shock and grief over what happened on October 7, I was, relatively speaking, more optimistic about the future than many. I saw the beauty in Israelis uniting in a time of crisis, volunteering for one another and willing to sacrifice themselves for a war that seemed indisputably just. The civilized world stood with us, and the Jewish people, in almost all its shades, rallied across the globe.
I expected Israel to wage a war of a few months that would end with the Israel Defense Forces deciding the fate of Hamas so that no significant threat would remain. At the same time, I hoped the Palestinians themselves would shake off Hamas’ cruelty and, at the war’s end, announce they sought reconciliation with a demilitarized state, without a military and without Hamas, whereupon Israel, having struck Gaza, would seize the opportunity to offer negotiations.
Most of the countries that recognized a Palestinian state tied their support to the Palestinian Authority enacting reforms, including in the education system, and made clear the state would not be established without meeting Israel’s security requirements. As it happens, what has unfolded in the diplomatic arena over the past week is, in fact, the total victory. I anticipated this, because history has often shown that reconciliation comes only after both sides have dealt and suffered heavy blows. The Yom Kippur War, for instance, paved the way for peace with Egypt.
Last week could also have been a breakthrough. But that requires courageous leadership on both sides, as there was in the days of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Unfortunately, Israeli leadership, across the spectrum, not only Benjamin Netanyahu, refuses to speak to us candidly or to treat Abbas’ speech as an excellent opening position for negotiations.
Securing the hostages requires ending the war, and if Netanyahu refuses to stop until every person still hiding in Gaza is eliminated, the war will not end
The strange trend is to childishly claim that a two-state vision without Hamas is actually “a reward for Hamas.” Why? Hamas has been removed from power and publicly denounced by the Palestinian president. The plan is to establish a Palestinian authority in Gaza backed by Arab states that will be committed to collecting the weapons remaining in Hamas’s hands.
Why is such a proposal a reward rather than a punishment for Hamas? There is no good answer. Even Donald Trump struggled to respond, aside from saying that “we want the hostages.” But that is obvious. Before any negotiations, we must secure the hostages. That does not contradict the reconciliation plan.
To secure the hostages, however, the war must end, and if Netanyahu is not willing to end it until every last person still hiding in Gaza is eliminated, the war will not end. That is both foolish and tragic, because Hamas has already raised the white flag; all that is needed now is to set the diplomatic process in motion to replace it.
Israel also forgets that preventing another October 7 depends less on holding an extra 500 meters inside the strip and far more on ensuring the next generation in Gaza does not grow up seeking revenge for what was done there - a cycle that would only lead us to retaliate again and again. October 7 was not only a catastrophe, it was also an opportunity. And sadly, while we won the war, we are losing the chance for a real change in the face of the Middle East.