Are Palestinians still capable of destroying Israel?

Gaza residents lining up near the water truck to fill their jugs. UN News

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement has said that President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a “Palestinian state in the heart of our land — a state whose sole aspiration is the destruction of Israel.” This statement belies Palestinians repeated submission for peace on a two-state solution based on 1967 borders, which is backed by two-thirds of members of the United Nations.

Earlier in an important development, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an “urgent” ceasefire in Gaza on Monday, with the latter also advocating for the reform of the Palestinian Authority to govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas. “Both leaders reiterated the necessity of advancing a two-state solution based on international legitimacy”, and for the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility in the Gaza Strip after the war ends, it added.

In a phone call, Abbas and Macron emphasised the urgent need for the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery (and) the rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land, international news media reported. Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state, but France would be the most significant European power to do so. Such formal recognition by Paris would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the Israeli prime minister’s criticism of Macron for announcing that Paris intended to recognise a Palestinian state within months. Mr. Netanyahu blames Palestinians for reportedly aspiring to destroy Israel while continuing the genocidal war with a clear intent to drive them away from Gaza. People around the world view Israel’s unilateral breaking the ceasefire as inspired by US President Donald Trump’s dream made known to create a Riviera in Gaza by moving the people from there to neighbouring lands. 

While Palestinians are dyeing of war wounds, hunger and diseases, the Israeli PM depicts them as giant ghosts capable of destroying Israel. In Gaza there is hardly any building left that has not been destroyed, still bombardments and airstrikes are continuing with heavy human tolls on the Palestinian side. In West Bank about a half of the territory has been taken under the possession of Israeli settlers or the military controlling every aspect of life of Palestinians. They have been treated this same way since 1948 when the Israel State was created. Mr. Netanyahu may use misleading words to camouflage the brutalities perpetrated on Palestinians, but what he and his forces have done in the present 18-month war, in this era of the Internet and smart mobile phone videos, were no secrets like those guarded in earlier Israeli-Palestinian wars.

As Negotiations between Hamas and Israel are ongoing, with Egyptian and Qatari mediators facilitating discussions, Hamas has indicated its willingness to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a comprehensive prisoner swap, a permanent ceasefire, and guarantees of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. However, Israel has proposed a 45-day truce if Hamas releases half of the remaining hostages within the first week of the agreement. This proposal also includes the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and discussions on a permanent ceasefire.

A key sticking point is Israel's demand for the disarmament of Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza, which Hamas has firmly rejected, calling it a "red line". Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, with the United Nations describing it as the most severe since the conflict began. Israel continues to block humanitarian supplies and Gazans run from street to street with bowls in their hand for share of cooked food distributed by humanitarians. Israelis have opened to door of hell in Gaza to secure a paradise for themselves, ignoring its consequences, because paradise and hell cannot operate side by side no matter how strong are the demarcation walls that have been erected four decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall.